Cause for Concern
by spiritedarray
Summary: Temari needs a tutor; Shikamaru wants extra credit. Paired together by the principal, it seems like the perfect plan. High school AU. ShikaTema.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Because you can't call yourself a fanfiction writer unless you've written an embarrassingly overdone high school AU, can you?

Welcome to another ShikaTema fic, and my first real AU. Pretty standard for most high school-based fics, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. There are other non-AU and canon-compliant stories for ShikaTema on my profile, so do have a read of those if you liked this one or are looking for something different.

N.B. I'm from the UK, so all of my knowledge of "high school" comes from the select few friends I have across the pond and terrible chick flicks. Apologies for inaccuracies!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_. If I had money and time and talent, I totally would.

* * *

"No. I refuse."

"Temari, you can't just refuse-"

"I can, and I will."

"I'm going to be blunt here, Temari, since you clearly have no respect for my authority as it is: you're failing your senior year, and at this rate, you won't get the grades to graduate. _All_ your teachers have highlighted your academic performance as 'cause for concern'. So unless you want to spend another twelve months here stuck in classes with people a year younger than you, I suggest you accept the help that we're offering to you."

"It looks like I'm already going to spend twelve months with someone younger than me. No, _three years_ younger than me. I can't be tutored by a _freshman_ , Miss! That's beyond humiliating."

"He's not a freshman, Temari, he's in your year."

"Since when?!"

"Since he skipped three grades."

"That's ridiculous. How can they let someone skip _three_ grades?"

"Some people enjoy a challenge."

"He's practically in middle school. There's no way he'll be of any value to me whatsoever."

"I can't think of anyone who's more qualified for the task. He has a 4.0 grade point average, an IQ of over 200 and he wants extra credit for his college admissions in the future. The rest of our staff body are busy helping the rest of the students in your year with their applications, alongside the classes they have to teach."

"But-"

"That's the end of this discussion, Temari." The principal sighed and rested her chin on her knuckles. "I know it's not an ideal situation, but this is for your own good. I _want_ you to walk out of this school with a diploma and a cap and _know_ you have a bright future ahead of you. If you simply put your mind to it and let this student help you, I'm sure you'll reap the rewards come mid-terms."

There was a sharp rap on the door.

"Come in."

Temari turned around to see a boy of slightly above-average height and dark, spiky hair enter the room. It was tied up in a taut ponytail and his eyebrows were stern, as if he were perpetually unimpressed.

"Shikamaru, take a seat."

Temari eyed the boy as he slipped into the chair next to her. She sized him up to be an arrogant, self-important teacher's pet who was just passing time amongst idiots and goldfish.

"Temari, this is Shikamaru Nara. He will be your tutor for the rest of this year."

"Whatever."

"Temari!" The principal admonished her. "I will not tolerate any of that attitude. Now greet him properly."

Temari rolled her eyes and turned her head slightly towards the boy. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he said, equally apathetic.

"Good. Now that introductions are over, I expect you to be able to organise weekly tutorials between yourselves." She turned to Shikamaru. "If Temari gives you any trouble about it or doesn't turn up when she's supposed to, alert me and I will ensure that doesn't happen again." She glared at the girl with unruly blonde bunches whose arms were folded indignantly. "Do I make myself clear, Temari?"

"Crystal."

"Perfect. Dismissed."

Both students rose from their chairs and walked towards the door. When Shikamaru reached to open the door for her, she blocked him with her hand. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Being polite, Temari-senpai."

"I can open doors for myself, thank you very much. And drop the '-senpai'."

"Why?"

"We're in the same year."

"You're technically three years-"

"Would it kill you to not be such a smartass all the time?"

"Sorry, that's part of the job description as your tutor."

"You two, if you're going to bicker, get out of my office. I have work to do," the principal barked after them.

They walked out of the room; Shikamaru closed the door behind them.

"See what you did?" Temari hissed.

"What _I_ did? You're the one throwing a fit over me opening a door for you."

"Because I can open it myself."

"And you did, congratulations. You're an empowered woman now."

"Is that sarcastic?"

"Beats me."

She grabbed his tie by the collar with one fist and stared him down. "Listen, moron. I don't care if you've got a 4.0 and you're skipping grades and your IQ is greater than all my test scores combined. We are _not_ friends, you are _not_ my equal and you will _not_ treat me like we are."

"That's why I used the honourific," he choked out.

She let go of his tie and pushed him away from her. "Unbelievable," she huffed, walking away.

"Wait," he called. "We haven't even arranged our first tutoring session."

"Figure it out, genius," she yelled without turning back.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey," he said nonchalantly as he met her outside of the classroom.

"Great, now you're stalking me?" she muttered.

"Funnily enough, we're in the same biology class."

"We're not."

"I literally sat two rows behind you."

"Right," she rolled her eyes. "Skipped a few grades."

"We've been having lessons in that room together since the semester began. Do you pay no attention at all?"

"How would I notice you when a) I'd never needed to and b) you never made yourself known? You're basically mute."

"I just don't get picked, that's all."

"Lucky you," she grumbled. "He calls on me whenever he thinks I'm falling asleep."

"Maybe that's why you're failing biology."

"What do you want, Nara?"

"I was just trying to catch you so we could arrange our first tutorial. You know, that thing you're obligated to attend otherwise you won't graduate?"

"You think spending an hour with you a week is gonna guarantee I graduate?" she scoffed. "Someone's a bit full of themselves."

"It's sad that your grades are so poor you think you're beyond help altogether."

She whirled around and stopped him right there in his tracks. "I don't need your help any more than I need a lecture from the principal about my job prospects. I will study hard this year and get those grades, and worst comes to worst, I'll become a stripper."

He nearly choked. "W-what?"

"It's a joke, idiot." She continued down the stairs.

"Right. Funny."

"Comedienne is next on my list."

"Can we just organise this already, Temari-senpai? I'm not enjoying this any more than you are but if we just focus and stop complaining about it, we might just make it out of exam season in one piece."

She sighed and paused on the steps. "I can do Wednesdays after school."

"Great."

"One condition," she said firmly, turning her head slightly but not enough to meet his eyes. "You drop the '-senpai'."

He swallowed silently. "Sure. See you Wednesday...Temari."

"Later, Nara."


	3. Chapter 3

"Temari!"

"Who's he?" Yukata asked.

"I have no idea. Keep walking," Temari said hurriedly, quickening her pace.

"Isn't he in biology?" Matsuri commented.

"He's in all our classes, dummy," Yukata chided her. "He's in our year now. They decided he could move up a few grades, he's that smart."

"Well, what does he want with you then, Temari?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Temari replied irritably.

"Nothing," Matsuri said innocently. "Let's get lunch. I heard there's dango in the cafeteria today!"

* * *

"There you are."

"God, what are you, some kind of sniffer dog?" Temari hissed as the spiky-haired boy approached their table.

"I tried to get your attention in the corridor but you didn't see me. Anyway, we forgot to pick a place."

"A place for what?" Yukata questioned curiously.

"Nothing," Temari snapped. She turned to him. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

His eyebrows furrowed and his expression was a mixture of confusion and scepticism. After a while, he stood up straight and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I guess not," he said plainly and walked away.

"Weird," Matsuri said.

"That's the first time I've ever heard him speak a complete sentence," Yukata added.

"Me too, come to think of it."

"No wonder no one knows who he is," Temari shrugged, finishing her yoghurt. "Anyway, I've gotta go talk to Kakashi-sensei about my English paper. I'll see you guys later."

* * *

 _Where would he be? A classroom? The gym?_

 _The library._

Temari swung open the doors to the Senju Library and they shut behind her with a loud thump. She was met by many disapproving looks and a condescending "Shhh!" from the librarian.

"Sorry," she whispered. She scoured the room for any sign of him, but he was nowhere to be found.

 _Great_ , she thought. _I've just made an entrance and now he's not even here._

She wandered through the aisles, deciding that she might as well check out some reading material if she stood any chance of making it through mid-terms. As she walked by the business aisle, she spotted what looked like a black pineapple floating in mid-air until she realised it was him, leaning against the books, sitting with his legs crossed as he was deep in contemplation over the book in his lap.

With a deep breath, she walked towards him. "Hi."

He looked up. "Do I know you?"

She exhaled. "I'm sorry about earlier."

He shook his head and shut his book, putting it to one side. "Whatever."

"Really. I'm sorry. I let my pride get in the way, it was stupid of me."

He stood up, brushed off his trousers and replaced the book on the shelf. "I'd like to think I'm pretty smart, but you, you're an enigma."

She looked at him oddly. "How so?"

"I just don't understand you at all. You're faced with being stuck in high school for another year, and yet you actively reject any help given to you whatsoever. I hate doing work as much as the next person, believe me. The only motive I have for getting through education so fast is so I can get a boring, stable job and live an easy life afterwards. But you, you only want to make things harder for yourself."

She frowned. "Hey, not all of us were born geniuses. You think I'm failing on purpose? You think I want to have a million teachers on my case and a report card littered with Ds and Fs? If I could be a straight-A student, trust me, I would in a heartbeat."

"Why do you have so little confidence in your own intelligence?" he said, exasperated. "High school is just about jumping through hoops. You don't need any inherent gift to be able to pass your finals. Just stop resisting people's help, sit down and concentrate and I'm telling you, you can graduate without being a rocket scientist."

"Easy for you to say."

He rolled his eyes. "Would you just listen for once in your life?"

"Fine. Proceed."

"I know from the quips you make and the backchat you give to people that you're much smarter than you look on paper. But it's also what's stopping you from being productive and driven. If you'd saved some of that quick wit and converted it into intuitive thinking, maybe you wouldn't be failing your senior year."

She sighed. "Here's good."

"What?"

"The library. I'll meet you here on Wednesday."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did I just win an argument with you?"

"That was hardly an argument, and you didn't win. This tutoring thing is mandatory. I wouldn't have been able to get out of it, however much backchat I gave to you."

"Sore loser."

"Don't make me hit you over the head with that book you were reading. By the looks of it, it was pretty big. Heavy. _Hardback_."

"Yes, ma'am."

"See you Wednesday."


	4. Chapter 4

"Fancy seeing you here."

He looked up from the table where he was working and there she was, perched on the edge of it. She had her arms extended lazily behind her, her sandy blonde fringe falling over her eyes as she made eye contact with him and smirked.

"I'm always in here. It's _your_ presence that's surprising."

"I was being sarcastic, idiot," she rolled her eyes. "Besides, if I remember correctly, you were pestering me about tutoring me here today. So, your wish is my command."

"I was just being witty in response to your sarcasm," he fired back, a grin slowly creeping across his face. Winding her up was fun. Maybe if he did that for the rest of the year, this whole tutoring business wouldn't be so bad.

"Are you _sure_ you're a genius? Because you're wasting a lot of time on these lame comebacks, you know."

He remembered why winding her up all year was probably a bad idea. _Focus, Shikamaru._ _Just be there to explain concepts, let her talk at you if needs be. Digressing will only be more troublesome for you in the long run._

"Are you ready to get started?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir." She hauled herself onto the desk, letting her long, slender legs dangle over the side. Her hands gripped the edge; her pleated skirt rode up to the midpoint of her thigh; the ends of her shirt sleeves turned up over the cuffs of her blazer. She'd pushed them up so they were ¾ length, giving her a relaxed and easy-going look. A complete contradiction of her personality.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. "Get off."

"I'm just making myself comfortable," she complained. "Plus, I can get a birdseye shot of your notes from here."

"The librarian will kick you out."

"You say that like it's a privilege to be in here."

He sighed. "Just get off the table, will you? You're sitting on my work."

She rocked to one side slightly so he could tug the paper out from underneath her, then she returned to her previous position. She crossed her right leg over her left, causing her skirt to flutter slightly higher. Shikamaru gulped a little, but ensured she wouldn't notice. He didn't know if she was doing it on purpose, but one thing was for sure: women were troublesome, and the less involved he became with one, the better.

"Better?" she asked sardonically.

"You're unbelievable."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

He tossed his pencil down onto the table with more force than originally intended; the subsequent clatter made a few heads turned, and certainly surprised Temari, but soon everyone returned to their business.

"I swear to God, Temari, if you're just here to waste my time and exhaust that big brain of yours on pointless retorts, forget it."

She got off the table, but refused to sit down. Instead, she leaned against it and crossed her arms defiantly. "What's your problem, Nara?"

"What's _my_ problem?" he scoffed. "I'm just here to help you study. I'm giving up my free time after school to make sure you get the grades you need to graduate, and you treat it like some sort of playdate. I've got work of my own to be doing, Temari. If you're not going to sit down in this goddamn chair and cooperate, then leave me alone."

"You!" The librarian snapped, waving a finger at Shikamaru. "This is a place of quiet study. If you're not going to zip it, you can go somewhere else."

"It was my fault," Temari said quickly. Shikamaru looked at her, confused.

"Fine. Then _you_ can go. Either way, one of you needs to disappear so that everyone else can work in peace."

"Sorry," Temari mumbled, although no one was sure who it was directed at. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, then left without another word.

A few moments later, Shikamaru was running to catch up with her in the corridor. "Temari!" he called, still trying to shove a folder into his backpack.

She turned around. "Why are you running?"

"To get a hold of you, obviously. I had a lot of stuff to pack up."

"What do you want?"

"To talk. To help you. I'm not giving up on you just yet."

"Why not?"

"Wow, do you _really_ not listen at all?" he muttered in frustration. "I have mentioned your big brain countless times now. You are more than capable of passing your finals with flying colours, Temari. Just stop being so goddamn difficult."

"And I've told you countless times, I don't need a guy to help me, in school or in life. If you think you're the magic key to 'unlocking my potential', you're sorely mistaken."

As she turned to walk away again, he caught her by the arm. "Stop."

"Get off me!"

"I'm sorry if I gave you a hard time before. I was annoyed that you seemed to lack any respect for hard work or things that encourage it. The library, for instance. People are spending half their lives in there to get into their dream college, and you're lounging around like it's your bedroom. It's fine if you don't care for libraries, but it might as well be Mecca for other people," he explained. "But anyway, I don't mean to be a buzzkill. It bothers me when people make my life more troublesome than it needs to be. So let's make this simple for both of us. If you turn up to every tutoring session from now on ready to learn and with minimal lip, I promise we'll never need to associate with each other again. I'll do my best to avoid you in school, in lessons, I will stick to my life and you can stick to yours. And if you do well in mid-terms and at the end of this semester, we can stop the tutoring as you clearly won't need it and it will only be eating into your precious time leading up to finals. We don't need to let the principal hear wind of it whatsoever. Sound good?"

She took some time to register everything he was saying, and eventually concluded it was easier to agree with him than to argue even more. She was exhausted already. Her _big brain_ was exhausted. Who would've thought, the genius of the school telling _her_ she had a big brain. She didn't know what to make of it at all.

"Perfect." She realised he was still holding onto her arm and she carefully slipped out of his grasp. "Next week, the real thing."

He let his arm fall to his side. Standing up straight, he replied, "I'll be waiting."

She smirked. "You're just in it for the extra credit, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. What's it to you?"

She turned around and walked away from him. Without looking back, she called, "An interesting experiment."


	5. Chapter 5

When he walked into the library, he was greeted by an unfamiliar sight that made him wonder whether or not he was dreaming.

Temari was studying.

Not just flipping through a textbook lazily while stuffing her face with dango; she was tucked into a desk, head down, books open and furiously scribbling notes. There were coloured tabs sticking out of her reading and everything was highlighted and organised. But most surprisingly of all, she was concentrating. It was like a parallel universe.

Cautiously, he approached the table. "This is new," he said, his eyes indicating everything in front of him.

"It's Wednesday, isn't it?" she grinned. "I wanted to come prepared."

He sat down beside her. "Well, I'm impressed," he sighed. "This is the last thing I expected from you."

"Wow, did I really set the standards so low?"

"I just don't know where all this initiative came from. Last week I couldn't motivate you to do anything."

"Would you stop questioning it and just have a little faith in me?" she grumbled.

"Sorry," he half-smiled. "Shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."

She smacked him playfully on the shoulder, eyes still glued to the sheets in front of her.

"So, what's all this?"

" _Hamlet_. I hadn't bothered to read the play until now, but it's _good_. No, it's _incredible_."

"Wow," Shikamaru nodded. "Someone's discovered their inner Shakespeare fan?"

"You bet," she grinned, her pen never pausing as her intelligent analysis of his longest play flowed onto the page. "There are so many _layers_ to it. I can't believe I didn't open the damn thing sooner. Who knows what else I've been missing out on in English Lit?"

"Considering you spent three years at this school before I came and your grades didn't change at all, probably a lot."

She rolled her eyes. "If you're just here to be an ass..."

"I'm done, I promise," he insisted. He pulled her open, tattered copy of _Hamlet_ towards him, scanned the passage and pointed to a particular section of it. "What have you noticed about this soliloquy so far?"

"He talks a lot about death," she answered. "He contemplates suicide quite openly."

"Good," Shikamaru commented. "You've got the gist of what he's saying. But look at the language, too; notice Hamlet's repeated use of infinitives. 'To be', 'to die', 'to sleep', 'to dream'. What's interesting about that?"

She thought carefully about it. "There are no personal pronouns."

"Exactly. Why does Shakespeare choose to use the infinitive forms of these verbs as opposed to having Hamlet speak with a distinct first-person perspective?"

"It seems kind of passive. He's distancing himself from his words, making it rather general and universal."

"Nice work, detective," Shikamaru praised her. "Why might he want to distance himself from his words?"

"What is this, some kind of interrogation?" she smirked. "Who's the detective _now_?"

"You can do the talking if you want."

"No, it's fine. I don't mind the questions. They're...helpful. They make me think a little broader, a little deeper."

He found himself intrigued by her genuine desire to learn. Up until now, her zone of complete concentration had seemed a little surreal, but it had occurred to him over the duration of their conversation that she was serious about her studies. Her enthusiasm for _Hamlet_ was a bolt out of the blue, but he would welcome it with open arms. She was prepared to make both their lives easier and commit to the cause, and he admired her for that. Perhaps he had finally convinced her that a diploma was well within her reach, so long as she knuckled down and realised just how erudite she was.

"The distance..." she began, snapping him out of reverie. "...is because he doesn't want to admit his hypocrisy to himself." Clearly, she'd realised she was onto something, because her eyes widened as the dots connected in her head. "His weakness is his indecision; in his pursuit of revenge, he inadvertently falls into a cycle of determination and hesitation. In the end, he's a scholar and not a soldier, so he overthinks everything. But he can't reconcile the traditional notions of honour and duty with his insightful and pragmatic character, so he looks to suicide as an escape - which is ironic, because that will only _prove_ that he can't take action unless it's to do with his own life."

The corners of Shikamaru's mouth twitched upwards into a smile. "You've cracked it."

"Really?"

"No doubt about it. You're gonna ace your _Hamlet_ mid-term."

She breathed a sigh of exultation and relief. "I hope so."

"From this soliloquy, Hamlet's intelligence and eloquence is clear to see. Why is this important in relation to the rest of the play?"

"He pretends to be mad in order to double-cross everyone and therefore plan his revenge. The way he speaks at different points during the play is therefore indicative of whether or not he's really in charge of his faculties."

"Be careful; there's still debate to this day about whether Hamlet feigned madness the entire time or actually spiralled into insanity towards the end. You should refer to his mad act as his 'antic disposition'."

"Antic disposition..." she murmured. "Interesting."

"What do you think it says about him?"

"Huh?"

"His antic disposition."

"Hm..." she pondered. "I guess it adds to his characterisation as a scholar and not a soldier."

"You guess correctly. And the significance of that is...?"

"Everyone is able to take action except him," she said triumphantly. "Claudius, his father, Laertes, Fortinbras..."

He looked at her with wide-eyed amazement. "You gleaned all of this after _one_ reading of the play, in less than a week?"

She grinned. "It would appear so."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're almost on par with me. But not quite."

She knocked his shoulder irritably. "Screw you, smartass."

"You should start calling yourself that. With the dedication you've got going on right now, you'll have no trouble with any of your tests."

"Hey, I don't wanna raise your expectations too much now..." she said warily. "This level of dedication is exhausting. I don't know how smart people do it."

"You should, you're one of them."

She rolled her eyes. "Stop saying that."

"I will, when it stops being true."

"God forbid I become as intelligent as you. I'd drive myself crazy."

"And you'd drive _me_ crazy with your newfound arrogance. So I'd never let you get that far. Can't have my tutee giving me a run for my place at a top college, now, can I?"

She smirked. "Threatened, are we?"

He merely smiled. "Some friendly competition never hurt anybody."


	6. Chapter 6

"So, are the big kids scaring you?" Ino chuckled as she placed a few more slices of pork on the barbecue.

"I don't talk to many of them. I'm pretty sure the vast majority still haven't noticed I'm in their classes yet."

"I can't believe you're a senior," Choji exclaimed. "I always knew you were smart, Shikamaru, but this is crazy. You've only just entered high school and you're graduating this year."

"How come they didn't let you skip middle school?"

"He didn't try in middle school until finals. All the teachers thought he was a lazy idiot until they saw his test scores at the end of eighth grade."

"Thank you, Choji, I can narrate my own life," Shikamaru said sarcastically.

"Sorry."

"Sooo," Ino began. "Have any senior girls caught your eye?"

"Tch," he snorted. "Of course you'd ask about that."

"What? I'm just looking out for you."

"Right."

"Stop avoiding the question, Shikamaru."

He sighed. "No, I'm not interested in anyone. I have too much work to be thinking about that sort of thing."

"Or maybe a senior guy...?"

"Ino!"

"Are you sure...?"

"Besides, if all women are as troublesome as you, I think I'll pass," he laughed.

Ino slapped him on the shoulder. "Charming."

"Aren't you tutoring someone? How's that going?" Choji enquired, stuffing his face.

"Fine," Shikamaru replied nonchalantly. "She's actually buckling down and getting things done, which makes my job easier-"

"Woah, woah, woah, _she_?!" Ino interrupted. "You're tutoring a girl?"

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" he said defensively. "She needed the help. I wanted the extra credit."

"So she's an airhead?"

"No," Shikamaru said immediately. "She's just got a bit of an attitude. Otherwise she's pretty smart."

"If she can keep up with Shikamaru, she must be," Choji nodded.

"So no interest at all...?"

"Just eat your dumplings, Ino."


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, Shikamaru," Temari called as she spotted him coming down the stairs.

It was the first time she'd reached out to him outside of their tutorials. Her eyes were unusually bright and eager to see him. He smiled a little at the fact that maybe, just maybe, she considered him a friend and not just a study partner anymore.

"What's up?"

"Can I raincheck you for this Wednesday?" she asked.

"Really? How come?"

She blushed a little, trying her hardest to suppress it but failing miserably. "I'm just busy..."

"Temari. You're gonna have to do better than that if you want out of quality time with me," he smirked, half-joking, half-serious.

"I...have a date."

His eyes popped wide open. "A date?"

She chuckled. "Why the surprise?"

"No reason," he mumbled. He straightened up and asked, "So, who's the unfortunate soul?"

She crossed her arms. "Jugo."

"Is he the tall, muscular guy with slightly erratic hair?"

"Yup." They walked along the corridor in brief silence as he waited for Temari to divulge more details. "What? I'm not going to gush about him with you. We're not ' _gal pals_ '."

"You gush about him with your, and I quote, ' _gal pals_ '?"

"God, read between the lines, idiot," she grumbled. "I'm not going to gush about him full stop. I'm not that kind of girl. The thought of a relationship humours me at best."

"Then why go out on a date with him?"

"He casually asked. I think he's attractive. We don't mind each other's company. Why not?"

"Quite the romantic," Shikamaru noted sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let's reschedule. How's this Thursday after school?"

"I can't. Friend's birthday."

"Okay, Friday lunch?"

"There's never anywhere quiet Friday lunchtime."

"Fine, you make a suggestion."

He thought for a moment. "Why don't you come over to my house on Saturday morning? My mom'll be out and I've got a ton of study material you might like."

She considered his offer. "Will there be dango?" she winked.

"If you behave, maybe we can pick some up from the shop down my street."

"It's a date!" she laughed musically, then headed for the stairs. As he watched her descend, he registered what she'd just said. Of course, she was joking, but all the same...she also used that same word to describe what she was doing with Jugo on Wednesday. He sighed internally. _I'm reading into this too much._


	8. Chapter 8

The doorbell rang, shocking Shikamaru from sleep. He looked at his alarm clock which read 07:30.

 _Who on Earth is up at this hour?_ he thought irritably.

When he opened the door, she was standing there in an oversized jumper and skinny jeans with books and coffee in hand. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Morning!" she chirped, then extended her arm straight towards him, pressing the cup into his chest. "For you, sleepyhead."

He took the coffee with both hands. "Thanks. For the coffee. Not for the wake-up call."

It was then that she noticed his pyjamas. "Oops. Sorry."

"Seriously, who gets up and goes to someone's house this early?" he groaned. "When I said 'Saturday morning', I meant ten or eleven."

"If that's what morning is to you, no wonder you're so lazy," she smirked. "Now, are you gonna keep complaining at me, or are you going to let me in?"

He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter.

"You should be proud of me, I bet you've never seen someone so eager to learn," she muttered as she took off her shoes. "Lazy ass."

"I'm giving up my Saturday lie-in for you, woman," he reminded her. "I wouldn't be so quick to insult."

"Is your mom still here, then?"

"No, she said she'd leave early since she has to travel quite some distance to meet this client of hers."

"Client? What does she do?" Temari sat down at the dining table and got her equipment out of her bag.

"She's a landscape architect."

"Really? That's so cool," she murmured as some family photos on the bookshelf caught her eye. He looked almost identical to his father. "What about your dad?"

Shikamaru placed some paper and a few pencils on the table. "He's in the military."

"Is he home often?" she asked tentatively.

"He's stationed overseas. He visits twice a year," Shikamaru said plainly. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Tea would be great, if you have any."

"Green tea?"

"Sure."

He walked over to the kitchen counter and started preparing it. She continued to let her eyes wander around the room. There were scrolls hung up and beautiful watercolour paintings of nature, but most of all, the place was full of knowledge. Literary works lined the walls; dictionaries sat in perfect formation; an abacus sat in the corner. She almost felt suffocated by how intelligent a household she'd walked into.

"Nice house," she commented.

"We downsized," he said. "We figured since it's just the two of us most of the time, we didn't need that much space."

"Smart."

"That's the Nara family for you." He brought the tea over, careful not to spill it. "Here. It's hot, in case that wasn't obvious."

"What would I do without you?" she laughed sarcastically, taking it in her hands.

"Right. Trig?" he said, sitting down opposite her.

* * *

"Shit," Temari cursed. "Ow! Hot."

Shikamaru looked up and realised she'd knocked her tea onto her sweater. She'd managed to catch the mug mid-fall, but the sweater was soaked. "Just take it off," he said. "I'll throw it in the wash for you."

She looked away, embarrassed. "I mean, I would, but..."

He looked at her, confused.

"...I'm not wearing anything underneath."

His eyes bugged. "Not even a tank top?"

"Sometimes I'm as lazy as you," she argued. "Look. You didn't even bother to change out of your pyjamas."

"Troublesome." He sighed and got up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get something for you to wear," he said. "You're not going to sit and squirm in that, are you?"

"Really, it's fine-"

"Just wait here."

* * *

"Try this on for size," he said, tossing a large shirt in her direction. "I didn't think any of my mom's stuff would fit you, so this is mine."

She caught it and felt the material, making sure it wasn't too thin. The last thing she needed was a case of indecent exposure.

"Bathroom's down the hall, to the left."

"Thanks."

She hurried off to change while he went and sat in her place at the table. He leafed through her notes; her handwriting was surprisingly elegant and he smiled at the little comments she wrote herself in the margins.

 _Revise this!_

 _Refer to page 34 in textbook_

 _Ask Shikamaru about this one_

He liked the last one the most.

"What do you think?"

His head snapped up as Temari did a twirl in the hallway. "Am I cut out to be a model?" she teased.

He swallowed, trying his hardest to keep his face from turning into a tomato. "You look...good."

She raised an eyebrow. "It was a rhetorical question, but I'll take the compliment."

She _did_ look good. She always did, but the sight of her in his shirt started to make his mind wander. She was different now. Somehow, in a man's shirt, she had never looked more like a woman.

She walked up to the chair and placed one hand on the back of it. "What are you snooping through my stuff for?" she chuckled lightheartedly.

"Just doing my job as your tutor to ensure your notes are thorough and complete," he mused.

"Oh no, don't tell me I get graded on my presentation," she said mockingly.

He didn't dare look up at her, fearing he would be confronted with something a little too convex and prominent to be her face. He was fifteen, but he couldn't let himself get distracted. He stood up quickly.

"Sit," he said, without making eye contact. "Let's get back to work."

* * *

"What do you want for lunch?"

"Well, what's on offer?"

"Uh, it seems we have a lot of vegetables..."

He'd caught her attention. "Does that mean we can make kenchin soup?"

Shikamaru looked mildly uncomfortable. "I...I can't cook."

She burst out laughing. "You're joking," she exclaimed, until she saw the severity of his expression. "No. You're serious?"

"My mom does all the cooking around here. I never bothered to learn."

She rolled her eyes. "Typical."

"I'll get around to it...eventually."

"Let me guess, she does your laundry and darns your socks as well?"

"No comment."

"You're ridiculous," she sighed, getting up and joining him by the fridge. She pulled out a number of ingredients and searched for a large saucepan.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, idiot? I'm fixing us lunch, since you're so incapable."

"Kenchin soup?"

"Yup. My favourite."

"Explains why you're so bitter," he quipped.

She punched him on the shoulder. "I'm happy letting you starve, too."

"I believe you."

* * *

They took a break for lunch, moving their books to one side and freeing up some table space for Temari's homemade soup.

"It smells good," he admitted as she handed him a spoon.

"Much better for you than any of that store-bought crap, too," she grinned. " _Bon appétit!_ "

In silence, he lifted a spoonful of soup to his lips cautiously. Temari watched him, half-amused, half-annoyed.

"I'm not trying to poison you, you know," she muttered.

He rolled his eyes and drew it into his mouth. It was the perfect temperature. "Not bad."

"Hey-"

"I'm joking, Temari. It's delicious. You've outdone yourself."

She crossed her arms in satisfaction. "I expected no less."

They both tucked into their bowls in silence. She pulled her textbook towards her and started paging through it in between mouthfuls of soup. He was about to comment, but thought better of it. She was really trying to do well and study hard. He admired her determination to turn her grades around.

After some time, he piped up. "So...how did your date go?"

"Aren't our conversations supposed to be work-related only?"

"The reason we're studying today is because you had a date," he reminded her. "So sue me if I'm a little curious."

She closed the textbook and thought for a moment. "Well..."

"Well...?"

"As in, it went well."

"How so?"

She blushed. "We...uh...have another date next week."

He grimaced internally. "Will it interfere with your studies?"

"Who are you, my mom?"

"I meant, will you need to skip tutoring again on Wednesday?"

"No, we're going to the cinema on the weekend."

"What are you going to see?"

"We haven't decided yet. But we both like horror so whatever scary, gory movie is on, I guess."

"Romantic," he laughed. "But _of course_ that's the kind of thing you would enjoy."

"Why, what are _you_ into?"

"I like sci-fi, documentaries, that kinda stuff. Some comedy isn't half-bad, either; whenever Choji and I go to the cinema, we like things that'll make us laugh."

"Who's Choji?"

"My best friend. We've known each other since we were in kindergarten, because our fathers knew each other back in college. Same goes for our friend Ino."

"They're all still freshmen?"

"Yeah. It's weird not being in the same classes as them anymore."

"Mm," she murmured.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Temari."

"I don't know, I guess I'm still a little self-conscious about this whole tutoring thing. They must think I'm an idiot if I need someone three years younger than me to help me study."

"You? Self-conscious?" he almost spluttered. "Now _that_ I don't believe."

"Not everyone has the brains and therefore grounds to be as egotistical as you."

"You think I'm egotistical?"

"No," she admitted. "But if I were you, I totally would be. But unfortunately, I'm not you. I can barely scrape a C in my homework, while for you an A- is a crushing disappointment."

"My friends don't think you're an idiot," he assured her. "They have other concerns on their minds."

"Like what?"

He looked away awkwardly. "It's unimportant."

"That's not fair, Shikamaru!"

" _Fine_ ," he said through his teeth. "They want to know about my love life."

She burst out laughing. He was mildly frustrated but also apprehensive; was she aware of Ino and Choji's insinuations?

"Oh boy, that must be fun." Nope, she had no clue at all.

"Tell me about it."

"So? Anything juicy?"

"What do you think?" he retorted. "I'm fifteen and swamped with college applications. I have neither the time for nor the interest in pursuing a relationship of any kind."

"There must be _someone_ you like though, right? Everyone has a high school crush."

"I've barely had a chance to meet any other freshmen, since I skipped a few grades. The friends I hang out with now are the ones I met in elementary and middle school."

"So there's absolutely _no one_ who catches your fancy, in any year in the school?"

He didn't want to lie to her, but wasn't quite sure what the truth was, either.

"Maybe," he shrugged. "I've just never given it much thought."

"Well, I just don't want you to miss out on any high school experiences," Temari explained. "You're condensing four years of your life into one. Sure, that makes perfect sense academically. But you do so much growing up in high school, so many 'firsts' happen. It would be a shame for you to spend all of your time with your head in a book."

At first it seemed as though she were giving him a lecture, but then he sat back and realised she was absolutely right. The most valuable aspect of high school wasn't the diploma you got at the end of it. It was the maturing, the self-discovery, the people you met along the way. That was something his dad had always tried to remind him of.

"What were some of your best experiences, then?"

She merely smiled to herself and stirred her soup. "Some memories are better kept to yourself."

* * *

"Thanks for today, Shikamaru. It was really helpful."

"No worries, you're doing most of the work now. You sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

"Nah, I should probably get back. I've had you all to myself since half-seven in the morning."

He smirked. "It wasn't all that bad in the end."

"Well, you should have some breathing space. I'll see you on Monday."

As she turned to leave, she remembered something. "What should I do about _this_?" she said, gesturing to his shirt that was still on her body.

"Keep it," he said casually. "I'll have your jumper washed and returned to you ready for Calculus first thing on Monday."

"Are you sure...?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "The shirt looks good on you."

Temari could feel her face radiating heat and Shikamaru was equally embarrassed at the comment he'd just made. Before it became so awkward that they had to acknowledge it, she quickly headed out of the door.

"See you!" she called without turning back.

"Bye," he said, alone.


	9. Chapter 9

"Isn't this her classroom?" he sighed to himself, lingering in the doorway. He glanced at his watch, which only confirmed what he already knew: she was going to be late, and so was he at this rate if he didn't get a move on.

"Hey, aren't you that kid who skipped a few grades?" a voice called to him. A bubbly face appeared by the door, and he recognised it as belonging to one of the girls that sat with Temari that one lunchtime. "Can I help you?"

"Uh..." Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks. Had Temari told anyone else about the tutoring? Would she be embarrassed if he let the cat out of the bag? Surely people had already seen them in the library together. It wasn't a big deal, right? "I'm looking for Temari. I need to give something to her." Quickly, he added, "A teacher asked me to."

"Oh, she's by the stairs talking to Jugo," Matsuri giggled. "I can pass whatever it is onto her, if you want?"

"That's okay," Shikamaru nodded. "I'll see her in first period, anyway. And you too, now that I think about. Matsuri, right?"

"H-how'd you know my name?" she wondered.

"We're in all the same classes. I've heard teachers and classmates call you that."

"Ah, makes sense," Matsuri nodded. "You keep to yourself most of the time though, right? Or maybe I just don't pay attention. But anyway, what's your name?"

"Shikamaru," he replied, then noticed the time again. "Anyway, I'm gonna be late if I don't get to my classroom. See you in Calculus."

"See you!" she smiled.

* * *

As he reached the staircase on the way to his classroom, he spotted Temari and Jugo beside them, in a position that indicated they were _definitely_ not just catching up or sharing notes. She had her back against the side of the stairs, and he had one arm propped up on the banister next to her head, leaning into her slightly. She was laughing and fiddling with her hair nervously, while he grinned and showed off his rugged good looks.

"Oh, Nara," she said in surprise, quickly separating herself from her orange-haired companion. Clearly flustered, she mumbled, "I didn't see you there."

"Who's this?" Jugo asked.

"This is Shikamaru Nara," she explained. "He's in our year. And all my classes."

"Jugo," the man introduced himself, holding out a hand. "Temari's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Shikamaru queried in Temari's direction. He shook Jugo's hand tentatively, but his eyes were fixed on the person next to him. Temari looked equally taken aback by the statement.

"Uh, Jugo, I didn't realise we'd decided that yet...?"

"Well, we're going on dates, we talk a lot, and we enjoy spending time together. I just assumed that was the stage we were at."

"M-makes sense," Temari nodded, blushing. "Right. _Boyfriend_."

"It's nice to meet you," Shikamaru said. "But I need to run to my classroom." Just as he had turned to race up the stairs, he felt compelled to interrupt them one last time. "Temari, this is yours." He handed her the jumper and quickly left.

"What's he doing with your jumper?" Shikamaru heard Jugo ask her.

"Um, I left it in Biology last week. He must've picked it up for me."

* * *

"Thanks for washing my jumper and everything," Temari said as they left Calculus.

"No problem," Shikamaru said plainly. "Have you got my shirt?"

"I thought you said I could keep it?"

"I realised I need it for an event soon. So if you could return it at some point, that'd be great." He turned away from her and headed in the other direction.

"Shikamaru!"

He felt a hand catch his shoulder, and sure enough a pair of teal eyes were staring back at him, hard.

"What's with you today?"

"Why do you ask?" he muttered. "The shirt belonged to me. Therefore it should be given back to me."

"It's not just that," she grumbled. "In Calculus, you wouldn't look at me, you wouldn't talk to anyone. You just kept looking at your desk."

"I do that all the time. It's called concentrating."

"Don't be an ass," she snapped. "And this shirt thing, I distinctly remember you telling me I could keep it. You must have a million other shirts like it. Why is this one so important?"

"Telling you to 'keep it' was a figure of speech," he retaliated. "It means you can borrow it so long as you give it back some time in the future. It's not an indefinite loan."

"Did something happen?" she asked. "...was it to do with earlier this morning?"

He avoided her gaze, choosing not to respond.

"I knew it!" she said. "You think dating Jugo is going to get in the way of my studies, don't you?"

 _Well, that wasn't_ exactly _it...but yeah, why not?_ "Of course it's going to. You're in your last year of high school and you'll be applying to universities soon. And with grades like yours, you can't afford to waste any time, especially on a relationship that's not going to last."

"Really? What makes you so certain of that?"

"It's high school, Temari! Long-distance doesn't work at our age. You'll go your separate ways, and it won't end well."

"What do _you_ know about high school, or relationships for that matter? You must be, what, _fifteen_? Do enlighten me on your experience."

He gritted his teeth. "Do what you want. If you fail, it's on you." Coldly, he said, "See you on Wednesday."

"We have classes together before then! Are you really gonna avoid me?"

"It seems you want to avoid me. Have you told _anyone_ you're being tutored?"

"N-no." She sighed. "It has nothing to do with you, though. I'm embarrassed for myself, for doing so badly in school."

"It's fine. I get it. But if you don't want it to become common knowledge, we probably shouldn't talk during school hours."

"You're in my classes!" she protested. "Is it really so strange to make friends with people in your classes?"

"When you're supposed to be three years apart, yes."

"Just...fine. Give me your number."

"Huh?"

"That way, we can text. If we need to change the date or time of a tutoring session, we can just send a message. No need to talk about it in person."

 _She's really okay with this?_ Wordlessly, he scribbled down his number on a piece of paper and held it out between his fingers for her to take.

"Here."

"Thanks."


	10. Chapter 10

He successfully avoided her for the entirety of Tuesday, keeping his head down in class and escaping promptly every time the bell went. Not that she was particularly keen to interact with him, either; in a way, it was conceited of him to even go to such lengths, considering she wasn't going out of her way to find him as it was. Nonetheless, he wasn't taking any chances. Outside of a tutoring context, he didn't know what to say to her anymore. But now, it was Wednesday, and he'd have to face her sooner or later.

"Shikamaru Nara! Just the student I was looking for."

"Principal," he nodded in greeting.

"Come with me." She gestured for him to follow; naturally, he complied.

Moments later, he found himself seated in her office, trying his best not to squirm as she examined him intently.

"I have to say, I'm impressed."

He was confused. "Huh?"

She sighed. "Don't ruin it with poor manners."

"Sorry, Miss."

"Considering what you've done for Temari, I suppose it can be forgiven. Her grades have improved dramatically since the beginning of the year; her mid-terms amazed most, if not all of her teachers. If she continues on this upward trajectory, a good university is well within her reach." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and smiled. "I've never seen progress like it. How did you do it?"

"Me? I didn't do much at all. She found some motivation, that's all."

"I don't buy it. She was never well-suited for academia, and yet she's turned it around completely since your tutoring sessions began-"

"Why am I the only one who sees it?" he snapped. The principal's eyes widened in shock.

"Sees what, Shikamaru?" she said slowly.

"Her potential!" he exclaimed. "Saying she was 'never well-suited for academia', that's bullshit. She's really intelligent, she just didn't bother to learn."

"Watch your language!" the principal barked. "You can spend this Friday in detention for that insolent outburst, young man."

"'That's not fair-"

"Do you want to be here after school next Friday, too?"

He stuttered. "N-no, Miss."

"I thought so. Now I suggest you get out of my office before I change my mind," she said authoritatively, watching him as he nodded and excused himself from the room. She sighed. _What on Earth has gotten into him?_

* * *

"What did the Principal want with you?" Ino asked when he emerged.

"No idea," Shikamaru shrugged. "She just told me she was impressed with Temari's progress, that's all."

"That's great news!" Ino beamed. She nudged him in the shoulder and added, "So, how _is_ Temari doing, then?"

"She's fine," Shikamaru said flatly.

"You _sure_ nothing's going on between you two?"

"I'm her tutor, that's it," he said through gritted teeth. "Now drop it, Ino."

"Jeez, sorry." She averted her gaze, having clearly overstepped her boundaries. "So, Choji and I were wondering if you wanted to go for some barbecue after school today."

He was about to agree, then sighed. "I can't. Today happens to be when I tutor Temari."

"Really? You can't just move it to lunchtime or something?"

"That involves finding her now, and that's too troublesome." He almost squirmed at how awkward it would be.

"You know phones exist, right?" Ino teased. "Don't tell me you still haven't asked for her number yet?"

 _Ah, yes. Her number_. "No. I gave her mine, but she hasn't texted me yet, so I don't have hers."

Ino rolled her eyes. _Idiot_. "Why don't you ask one of her friends? Shouldn't they be your friends too, since you're all in the same year?"

"Good idea."

* * *

"Matsuri!"

The girl spun around and her eyes lit up. "Oh, hi! Shikamaru, was it?"

"Yup, good memory. I was wondering if you had Temari's number. I need to talk to her about a tutoring-related thing but I can't find her anywhere." _Technically, I didn't even try._

"Sure. Let me find it for you," she smiled, whipping out her own device. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her at all today, either."

"Weird." He waited impatiently as Matsuri fumbled with her passcode, then scanned over her screen for the Contacts app, then scrolled through a seemingly endless list of people. _She knows there's a search function, right?_ "Why don't you just text it to me later? I don't need it right away. Here." He grabbed a pen from his pocket and wrote his number on her palm, completely oblivious to how presumptuous he was being. Matsuri simply stood there in shock as he grabbed her hand with neither hesitation nor permission, though she felt a slight blush creep up on her cheeks.

"O-okay," she nodded quickly.

"Thanks. I've gotta run. See you!"

"B-bye," she stuttered.

* * *

S: hey, it's shikamaru. can we do the tutoring thing at lunch instead? my friends invited me for bbq after school.

* * *

He must've read and re-read the message a dozen times, deliberating over whether or not to send it. Ino noticed his hesitation and, in a fit of impatience, snatched his device and did the deed for him.

"What the hell, Ino?"

"If I didn't do it, you never would have."

He sighed. "Great. Can I at least have my phone back?"

Just as she was about to hand it to him, a message tone sounded. Her eyebrows shot up and she immediately retracted her arm to look at the alert on the screen.

"Bad luck, Shikamaru," she smirked as she showed him the preview.

He hastily reclaimed his phone to assimilate the information himself.

* * *

T: Busy at lunch. Let's just reschedule. Also, how the hell did you get my number?

* * *

It seemed she was just as eager to avoid him as he was her. "Guess that's that, then," he shrugged nonchalantly, replacing the phone in his pocket and continuing to walk. Ino quickly followed.

"You're just gonna leave it at that?"

"She's busy, what do you expect me to do about it?" he snapped in reply. He sighed. "Sorry. I'm just tired. Senior year is hard work, you know?"

"I'll bet," Ino nodded. "But look on the bright side. She gave you a free pass to come and have barbecue with us. Let's enjoy it, okay?"

"Sure."

* * *

So he was irritable and distracted, but he didn't have to be so damn obvious about it.

"How many more glances are you gonna sneak at your phone?" Ino grumbled. "She's not gonna text you."

"Who's this?" Choji asked through mouthfuls of rice and barbecued meat.

"Temari, that senior girl he's tutoring."

"Oh, her. Why's he expecting a text from her?"

"I don't know. After all, _she's_ the one who texted _him_ last."

"I don't care about getting texts from her!" Shikamaru hissed. "Will you both just _drop it_ , already?"

"Fine, but you realise that you're gonna have to talk to her at some point to _actually_ reschedule?"

It seemed odd that an important detail like that had slipped past an intellectual such as himself, but so it had happened.

"There's no point in trying any time this week. I'll just wait until I see her on Monday morning."

Ino rolled her eyes. _What a drama queen._

* * *

He was jolted from his slumber by the sound of the door slamming loudly.

"No eating, no drinking, no talking and no other funny business for two hours. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir."

A pair of green eyes met his own in an otherwise empty classroom. He blinked a few times before fully realising what was happening.

"And you," the teacher snapped at him. "No sleeping, either." Temari smirked and took her seat on the other side of the classroom.

"My office is right next door. If I hear so much as a peep, there will be trouble. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir," they said in unison.

"Good. Now sit and think about what you've done." With that, he left.

"Fancy seeing you here," she muttered quietly once she'd determined that their minder was out of earshot.

"I could say the same for you. What was your crime?"

"I skipped school."

His eyes bugged in shock. "What?"

"On Wednesday. Jugo and I decided to have some fun. So we just upped and left."

"You..." He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you."

"Huh?"

"You really think you can afford to take time off school with grades like yours?"

"Oi!" she hissed. "The hell is that supposed to mean? My grades are just fine, thank you very much."

"Yes, because you studied seriously. Are you gonna let all of that go to waste just to be with some guy?"

"That 'some guy' you're talking about happens to be my boyfriend. We're teenagers, live a little."

"Tch," Shikamaru scoffed. "He's making you cut class, who knows what you'll give into next?"

"Jeez, Nara, what's with the stick up your ass?" she snapped. A sound was heard from the other side of the wall, causing an abrupt silence to fall between the two, but when no footsteps were heard, Temari continued, "And I don't just mean today. You've been avoiding me all week. I know you think Jugo is a bad influence, but going out with him was my choice as well. What happened on Wednesday was both our faults."

"Don't you get it?" Shikamaru retorted condescendingly. "You go about your life throwing caution to the wind, not caring about the consequences. Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, what you do affects other people? Take Wednesday, for instance. You just decided to take a day off. Did you even plan on letting me know that you wouldn't turn up to our tutoring session?"

"You texted me before I had the chance to-"

"That's bullshit. You would've forgotten all about it, and I would've been sitting in that library, waiting for you for God knows how long." He sighed in frustration. "And what about your parents? Have you ever thought about doing well in school, so you can go to a good university, get a good job and make their lives a little easier? You only ever think about yourself-"

"My parents are dead."

He stopped in his tracks.

He inhaled deeply.

He thought he might be sick.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. You wouldn't have known."

"Still, I-"

"Nara, you should shut up before you dig yourself a deeper hole." Slowly, she stood up and took off her shoes to avoid making a sound as she walked towards him and took the adjacent seat. "You're right, though. I wasn't thinking at all."

He watched her as she leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling with those feline teal eyes, her hair tied back into some ridiculous multi-ponytail hairstyle which somehow suited her perfectly. She wasn't conventionally beautiful, as he'd noted before when she came to his house that one time, but there was something undeniably charming and attractive about her. She looked strong, yet elegant; like someone who'd blossomed amidst all the hardships life threw at her. He had no doubt now that that had been the case.

"I imagine you've got a few questions flying around that inquisitive mind of yours," she smirked. "So I'll just talk at you and you can listen, okay?"

He nodded solemnly.

"My mom died giving birth to my youngest brother, Gaara. He's in your year. Or, he would've been, I should say, since you're three years ahead now. He's in the same cohort as all your friends, though. My dad was an important political figure, so we come from wealth, but he died as I entered high school. It was all a mess. We're being looked after by our godfather, Baki, but once I turn eighteen, I'll be responsible for myself and the legal guardian of both my brothers. Scary, right?"

He looked mortified.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. I have another brother, Kankuro. He's a junior here, a year younger than I am. We're pretty close. Our parents' deaths hit Gaara the hardest. He was in hospital for most of middle school. He's better now, but it was tough. I feel like I have to be a mother to them, you know?"

"Temari, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you telling me this?"

A smile came across her face as she continued to stare at the ceiling. "I don't know. I guess I've always been taking care of other people. There's never been anyone to listen to me."

"What about Jugo?"

"It's different with the person you're dating," she shrugged. "It's still new. We don't really know each other yet. You want to impress them, look good for them, show them all of your great qualities. Unloading something heavy on him when he's only been my boyfriend for the best part of five days would send him running for the hills."

"But you're not afraid of that with me?"

"No. You and I were thrown together by force because of my laughable academic record and your sparkling one. The expectations were low to begin with; I don't think there's much I could do now to drastically diminish your opinion of me further." She grinned and finally turned to look at him. "What do you know, spending all this time around you has made me more eloquent after all."

"Well, I'm glad I'm useful for something," he mused, chin resting in his hand as he turned sideways to look at her. "I'm sorry for thinking you were inconsiderate. You must've had a hard time."

"I don't need your apology. I _am_ inconsiderate. I've been letting myself go to cope with it all, but then you came along and told me to get my act together. I guess old habits die hard." She twirled a pencil between her fingers.

"I understand it, though. Sounds like you had to grow up pretty fast. It's your right to act like a teenager now if you want to."

"Yeah. I plan on doing just that." She exhaled slowly and sat upright. "Thanks, Shikamaru. I'm glad we're friends." She paused. "Or at least, that's what I thought we were, until you cold-shouldered me all week..."

"Sorry about that," he muttered. "I..." _am probably experiencing something akin to jealousy and protectiveness but it'd be creepy if I admitted it to both of us, what with the age gap and our tutoring relationship and everything._ "...was worried he'd distract you from studying."

"Don't worry," she smiled. "Wednesday was a one-off. From now on, school comes first. He's gonna have to settle for second fiddle," she winked.

He swore his heart stopped for a millisecond, not that he'd ever let that be known in his outward appearance. "I hope he won't be too disappointed," Shikamaru teased.

"Jugo? Nah. It's a high school relationship. It probably won't last."

"You agreed to date him knowing it's gonna hurt when it's over?"

"We have fun, but it's not love. Not yet, anyway. I don't think I'd let it get to that point, when I know we'll be going our separate ways so soon."

 _I hope you don't let it get to that point, either_. "I'm glad you're having fun, at least."

"Yeah," she smiled to herself. She caught him looking uncomfortable all of a sudden and quickly interjected, "Not _that_ kind of fun, idiot! It's too early."

"When's the right time?"

"Why so curious?" she asked. Then a grin came upon her lips as she said, "Don't tell me. Little fifteen-year-old Shikamaru Nara has a crush on a girl?"

"N-no."

"Aha, you stuttered! I knew it!" She piped down when she heard a chair being pushed back on the other side of the wall. When nothing came of it, she whispered, "I'm honoured you're coming to me for advice."

"I didn't do that," he hissed in reply. "You're jumping to conclusions."

"Am I? Your face is bright red, Nara."

He looked away instinctively.

"Oh, don't be like that. Inexperience is sweet. And anyway, you're only fifteen. You've got years to figure this stuff out."

"I'm going to college next year, remember?"

"Shit. You're right." She sighed. "It's like I said before. You're gonna miss all these experiences if you're not careful."

He said nothing in acquiescence.

"Let me help you. Who's the girl?"

"Eh?"

"Who's the girl you've got your eyes on?"

"W-what-"

"Wait, is it a guy? It's a guy, isn't it? Hey, I'm not one to judge. I think it's great."

"Oi, stop assuming things and let me talk, would you?" he grumbled. "I don't have a crush on anyone, girl _or_ guy. But even if I did, I wouldn't tell _you_ about it."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Have you seen yourself? Your only way of speaking to me is in insults."

"That's not fair. I'm very reasonable and understanding when I want to be." She sat up straight and looked at him with her piercing teal eyes. "Ask me anything. Go on. Don't be shy about it."

He rolled his eyes, but thought of what he might wish to know. "When was your first kiss?"

"Really, Nara? _That's_ your question?"

"Forget it-"

"Fifteen. I was your age."

His attention had been caught.

"I was a sophomore, though. My birthday's just really late in the year."

He nodded. "Tell me about it. The kiss, that is."

She looked at him warily, but agreed to his request nonetheless. "It was with my first boyfriend, Daimaru. We've known each other since we were kids. It sounds cute and all, 'childhood sweethearts' and that kind of bullshit, but that really wasn't the case. My dad had recently passed away and I was pretty vulnerable. I wanted companionship and comfort and he was there. He confessed that he'd liked me for a long time. I guess you could say he swooped in while I was weak...but it was my fault, too. I didn't have any romantic feelings for him. We didn't go beyond kissing or anything, and the whole relationship only lasted two months or so, but I still feel bad about how it ended. I really shut him down hard."

"So does that mean you regret it?"

"Not at all." She rested her chin on her hand. "My first kiss was from someone who cared about me. And he really did. He was the best first boyfriend any girl could ask for. My heart just wasn't in it for various reasons, and I let it go on for too long, but I really needed someone at that time in my life, and he was everything I needed him to be." Her eyes met his curiously. "You're a first kiss virgin, aren't you?"

He half-smiled. "Sort of."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When we were in kindergarten, my friend Ino kissed me as a dare. I had no idea it was coming until it had already happened. So she kind of stole it, in a sense," he laughed. "I held a grudge over it for a long time. But if I think about it, I guess my first kiss came from someone who cared about me, too. That's comforting."

"See?" Temari grinned. "And from a childhood friend, no less. What a coincidence. But look at you, getting your first kiss without even meaning to, you _stud_."

"Tch," he grunted. "I don't like to count it. It lasted half-a-second, there were no feelings involved, and I played no part in it at all."

"Who said a kiss has to involve feelings?" she shrugged. "Maybe you won't miss out on these experiences because you're short on time, but you'll miss out on them because you're overthinking it, you know."

"I hope you weren't this blasé about your virginity," he commented off-handedly, feigning indifference yet wanting to confirm something.

"What if I told you I was still a virgin?" she shot back, raising an eyebrow. "And you say _I'm_ the one jumping to conclusions. I don't know what you think of me, but I'm not gonna sleep with just anyone. That's an entirely different matter."

"Sorry," he muttered. "You kept talking about experiences, I just assumed you'd had a lot of them."

"I have," she nodded. "I've done just about every classic teenager-y thing you can imagine. And I've done certain things with certain guys, but none of them deserved the whole package. That's for me to decide."

He swallowed. "Ended badly?"

"I just don't think I'm cut out for long-term stuff. I've had a grand total of four boyfriends, Jugo included, but nothing ever lasted more than three months. Guess I can't be tamed into commitment and domesticity," she chuckled.

"Makes sense. When I first met you, I got this aura of 'hurricane'."

"'Hurricane Temari'. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" she winked.

"Mm." He studied her for a moment: wild hair, lean legs, sly grin and all. There was something so feline and fierce about her, yet the simple blink of her sharp, sparkling eyes reminded him that she was real; she was human; and she was all woman. He could only imagine how many hopeful guys had chased after her, and how many had actually had the courage to ask her out.

"So besides that pseudo-first kiss, you really haven't been involved with anyone? There wasn't anyone you liked in middle school, no one you took to a dance in the hopes it would turn into something more?"

"No. School has always been a matter of jumping through hoops for me. And girls are troublesome as hell."

"You can't expect to get any with _that_ attitude," Temari teased. "Is Ino pretty?"

He took a second to think about it. "I guess so. She's pretty in a stereotypical, model-esque way."

"Well, even if your first kiss was stolen, at least it was stolen by someone beautiful."

 _No, she's not 'beautiful'. That's a whole different category._ "Whatever. I still want a do-over, with someone I like. My 'first kiss' can be short for 'first kiss that matters'."

"What a marshmallow," Temari rolled her eyes. "Definitely an anomaly amongst fifteen-year-old boys."

"' _I'm very reasonable and understanding when I want to be_ '!" he echoed, raising the pitch of his voice in imitation. She practically growled at him.

"Just shut up and think about what you did, like the teacher asked us to." She paused. "Wait, what _did_ you do?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I swore at the principal."

"You did _what?!_ "

"Well, I didn't swear _at_ her. I just swore _in front of_ her, and said some other things in a not-very-polite manner."

"Wow, what could have possibly riled up the ever-calm Shikamaru Nara?" she wondered.

"Beats me."


	11. Chapter 11

He turned out the lights and flopped onto his bed; just as he was about to close his eyes, his phone screen shone and illuminated the room.

 _Who's texting me at this hour?_ he grumbled internally as he reached over to unplug his phone from the charger.

* * *

T: Thanks for listening to me in detention. I know I probably told you way more than you wanted to know. Anyway...see you next week

* * *

He didn't know how to respond.

Was he supposed to say "you're welcome"? It was true, he'd never asked for _that_ much information. But a part of him - a large part - felt honoured that she felt comfortable enough to share that with him. Over her friends, over her _boyfriend_ , she'd put her heart out on the line, hoping he would listen. And listen, he did. He'd learned so much about her in a mere few hours, and he wanted to keep learning about her. He wanted to be someone she could depend on, since it seemed that she hadn't been afforded such a luxury in all her seventeen years.

 _Why_ did she have to text him right before he was about to sleep? Now he'd be up for a while, overthinking everything, as she'd implied he had a tendency to do.

He tried a few things out.

* * *

S: no problem. i'm always here if you need me, you know. night

S: don't worry about it. what else are tutors for, right? :P

S: it's nothing. you actually made detention kinda bearable. i'm sorry about how i acted this week

* * *

He was a genius, a so-called 'prodigy'. Why was this so hard?

* * *

S: no worries, see you then

* * *

He hit send and let his phone drop onto his covers. Sighing, he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

 _Women are troublesome_ , he reminded himself. _She's no different_.

* * *

He stared at her for the duration of Biology.

He couldn't help it. It's not like she'd notice, anyway; he sat two rows behind her, so she'd have to somehow crane her neck 180 degrees to catch him in the act. Still, it was rare for him to stay awake in this particular class, and luckily, his invisibility to the rest of his classmates hadn't changed since he'd first joined at the beginning of the year.

Or so he thought.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

The voice wasn't the one he was expecting - or hoping - to hear, but it was female, and it intrigued him nonetheless.

"Matsuri," he smiled. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks," she nodded. "How was your weekend?"

They left the room and began walking down the corridor towards their next class together. "Same old," he shrugged. "I just worked and slept, that's all."

She laughed musically. "Seems like you caught up on all your sleep over the weekend, because you were _wide_ awake in class today," she winked.

"Huh?"

"Usually, you're dozing off, essentially passed out on your desk," she explained. "Honestly, I wonder how you get away with it. But looks like something finally caught your interest..."

His face flushed immediately. Eyes fixed straight ahead, he stuttered, "W-well, you know, college applications are happening soon, so I've gotta start paying attention and all of that."

"Well, unless the back of Temari's head is going to secure you a place, I think you've gotta think of better lies than that," she giggled. "You like her, don't you?"

"No," he said immediately. "We're just friends."

"I see. That's good," she nodded. "Temari's with Jugo, after all."

"Yeah. They seem happy."

"Mm. People always said they'd be good together. I'm shocked it took them so long to finally take the plunge."

Shikamaru thought about that for a moment. "Were they good friends throughout high school?"

"Huh? Oh, of course. You weren't here for the last three years. Good friends...not really. They didn't really hang out. Temari was with other guys, she's not a cheerleader or anything; Jugo's always been quite popular and athletic. Their circles didn't really overlap. But when she got out of her last relationship, she started going out more, going to football games and post-game parties. That's how they got talking, and here we are."

"He had to wait three years for his turn, huh?" Shikamaru mused wistfully.

Matsuri laughed. "I don't think it began all the way back then. But that's an interesting way to look at it." As they turned into their classroom, she asked, "Would _you_ wait three years for her?"

 _I think it'd end up being_ her _waiting three years for_ me, he thought to himself. "The age gap wouldn't change. It would bother most people, so it would probably bother her."

"You'd be surprised," Matsuri countered, heading towards her seat. "It's the modern age, Shikamaru. We're not so fussed about things like that anymore."


	12. Chapter 12

"Good work today," he smiled. "Make sure you do at least one of those practice papers before I see you next week, okay?"

"Uh, Shikamaru," she said pointedly. "I won't see you next week."

"Eh? How come?"

"It's winter break."

"Oh. Right." He'd forgotten about that entirely. "Well, have a good holiday, then. Keep working hard and have a think about what colleges you may want to apply to next semester. Enjoy yourself, of course, but don't slack off, okay?"

"Don't worry, I know," she grinned. "Now, close your eyes."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it, will you?"

Reluctantly, he complied, wondering what troublesome thing she could be planning.

"I hate surprises," he muttered.

"You'll like this one," she assured him. "Merry Christmas."

He opened his eyes and saw a package in front of him on the table. He unwrapped it sceptically, waiting for something to pop out at him or spray in his face, but nothing of the sort occurred. Instead, he removed the paper to find a luxurious box, inside which was a crisp, white shirt, freshly pressed and folded.

"Woah," he raised his eyebrows. "Temari, you didn't have to-"

"Hold your horses, Nara," she smirked. "Before you think I splurged on a Christmas present for you and feel terrible about it, I should let you know that this is not a new shirt, but the same shirt you gave - sorry, _loaned_ \- me."

"Oh," he replied blankly. "You didn't have to give it back. I would've forgotten about it."

"Well, you were _so_ insistent the other week that I felt bad. So here." He accepted it sheepishly, casting his mind back to that week he spent breeding in his own unspoken bitterness.

Temari then dug around in her bag and pulled out one more present. " _This_ is something that's _actually_ new, which I bought for you."

A few seconds later, a deep green silk tie sat in his hands.

"Wow," he said, inspecting it closer, feeling the material between his fingers. "Thanks, Temari. I don't think I've ever owned a tie as nice as this before."

"Really? Well, consider it a rite of passage."

"I'm curious, though - why green?"

She cocked her head. "Why green? Hm...I don't know. I just thought this colour would look good on you. It reminds me of a forest, woodlands, all that crap."

He swallowed. "I'll take your word for it."

"Take my word for it? Nara, just try it on."

"Now?"

"No, when hell freezes over. Yes, _now_."

Praying his face wouldn't give him away, he slipped the tie over his head. She leaned across the table to fix it for him, inadvertently offering him a titillating glance at her bust. He quickly averted his eyes to the ceiling, reminding himself of their age gap and the fact that, to her, he was no more than a kid, really.

And yet, she didn't move to increase the distance between their faces long after the tie was already secure around his neck. She hovered there, over the table, eyes studying his face curiously. Then, a wry smile broke across her mouth.

"I was right," she smirked, shoulders relaxing as she sat back down.

"So...I look good?"

"The _tie_ looks good. Don't get ahead of yourself, Nara," she chuckled, but there was a warmth to her laugh that lit up the whole library. She packed up her belongings and stood up from her seat. "Have a good holiday. Try not to sleep through it, okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "See you next semester."

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Shikamaru."

"Here, son," Shikaku grinned, handing him a gift box. "I was browsing in the airport, and thought of you when I saw this. Go on, open it."

Cautiously, Shikamaru took off the lid.

"I thought it was about time a father got his son a proper tie," Shikaku winked. "Pretty soon you'll be attending dances and meetings and other formal events. You're a smart kid, so you've gotta look the part."

"Uh, I don't know what to say...thanks, Dad."

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked. "I thought you'd be thrilled. You never get the chance to wear anything half-decent. Your mom tells me you're always in jeans and a t-shirt."

"No, the tie's great, Dad, really. It's just...I already have one."

"Eh?" He looked at his wife. "You got him one already?"

Yoshino shook her head. "I thought we agreed you would buy it."

Her husband looked all the more confused. His eyes flickered back to his son. "So, where'd you get it from?"

"It was a gift. From...a friend."

"You kids give each other ties these days?" Shikaku said sceptically. "Let me see it."

He sighed, but knew full well that there was no use to arguing with his old man. He escaped to his room and returned a minute later, green piece of silk in hand.

"It's a nice one," his father nodded. "Who is she?"

"Eh?" Shikamaru reacted in surprise. "What makes you think a girl gave it to me?"

" _Shikamaru_ ," his dad said emphatically. "Teenage boys don't buy each other ties. Definitely not ones like this, either." He smoothed the fabric between his fingers. "She knows her stuff."

"She has brothers, that's all."

"So it _is_ a girl."

 _Damn_. "Just the person I'm tutoring. It was a Christmas gift."

"Well?" Yoshino looked at him expectantly. "What did you get her?"

"Me? Nothing."

"Shikamaru Nara," she scolded him. "This girl spent her time and money buying you this lovely tie, and you gave her _nothing_? I raised you better than that!"

"Hey, I didn't know she was getting me anything! She sprung it on me, how was I supposed to return the favour on the spot?"

"Don't tell me you couldn't have arranged to meet with her. You're her _tutor_ , I'm sure you could have taken some initiative! I'll allow no son of mine to be so rude to a poor high school girl. Tomorrow, you go out to those sales and you get her something, understand?"

"It's not as easy as that!" he grumbled. "Girls are difficult. Even _they_ don't know what they want. How the hell am _I_ going to get her something she'll like?"

"Do you not have mutual friends you can talk to?" Yoshino fired back at him. " _Think_ , Shikamaru."

So that was that.

* * *

"How about some beauty stuff?" Matsuri proffered. "You can't go wrong with some makeup or bath bombs."

Shikamaru shook his head. "She'll definitely know I had _nothing_ to do with the actual gift. Is she even the kind of person to pamper herself?"

"Not as much as other girls, but all the more reason!" Matsuri said brightly. "She'll realise what she's been missing out on all this time."

He thought it about it for a moment; what with her family history, it _did_ seem like Temari rarely had a minute to relax. Perhaps some pink, glittery toiletries and other scented paraphernalia would remind her to take care of herself every so often?

Okay, pink and glittery were a step too far. Even if he went for something more sophisticated, he could already imagine her reaction.

 _"Really, Nara? Bath stuff? What am I, six? Or worse, sixty?"_

 _"Wow, you get_ full _marks for creativity and originality on this one."_

 _"Are you trying to tell me I smell bad, or something?"_

"Better not."

"Okay, then makeup."

"She doesn't need it."

" _Au contraire_ ," Matsuri countered. "She was telling me the other day about how she needed a new foundation-"

"She looks better without."

" _Ah_." Matsuri nodded understandingly. "Shikamaru, you still remember that she has a boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"So, it's probably not a good idea to get too involved."

"I'm not."

"You're just tutoring her. Why do you need to get her something, anyway?"

"She gave me something. It'd be rude not to return the favour."

"I'm not convinced."

"My mom was bugging me about it."

Matsuri laughed. "So long as it's not because you want to sweep her off her feet, you should be good."

He raised an eyebrow. "Since we're on the topic, what's _your_ motive for helping me?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you didn't _have_ to say yes. It's extremely handy that you did, but honestly, I wasn't expecting anyone to bother replying when it's winter break."

"She's one of my best friends," Matsuri said firmly. "I want her to be happy." Then, an idea popped into her head. "You could get her a scrapbook or something, a place for her to keep mementos of her high school life. People love looking back at that kind of stuff."

"That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

"It might not have occurred to you since you skipped three grades and all that, but it's her senior year: the last chance she has to make these kinds of memories with her friends, her boyfriend, etcetera. She'll want to remember this."

She had a point. "Okay. Fine."

"Great. Let's go."

* * *

S: hey, i hope you had a good xmas. i know this is out of the blue, but can we meet later today?

* * *

T: Sorry, Shikamaru, it's not really a good time right now. Can it wait until the semester begins?

T: Oh, and Merry Christmas to you, too.

* * *

S: i promise it'll only be 2 secs.

* * *

T: What happened? Are you okay?

* * *

S: dw, i'm fine. but it's important.

* * *

T: ...

* * *

T: Two seconds. 3pm, the fountain in the park by school. Got it?

* * *

S: see you then

* * *

When he spotted her coming, she had wrapped a giant scarf around her neck, so bulky it practically drowned the lower half of her face.

"You're that cold?" he wondered.

"It _is_ December, Nara," she said, voice muffled by fabric and cold air. "Now, what do you want?"

"Here."

"What's this?" she asked when he placed it into her gloved hands. "A gift? You didn't have to, Nara. When I gave you that tie, it was just a courtesy-"

"Would you stop talking for one moment and open it?" he huffed. "The more words you waste on me, the longer this will take."

She frowned, but was effectively silenced.

"A scrapbook," she murmured when the present lay open in her hands. He studied her face for any sign of a reaction, but she remained stoic until the very last moment, when the corners of her eyes creased in happiness.

"Thanks, Shikamaru. That's really thoughtful." She flicked through the pages, each with different patterns and colours. "This'll be great for this year."

 _Note to self: thank Matsuri later._ "You always go on about not missing out on things. It sounds like the last few years were pretty hard on you, so I guess this'll remind you to enjoy yourself and have fun while you can."

"I plan on it," she grinned. "Really, this...this has made my day. Worth being dragged out into the cold for."

He was ready to bid her farewell and turn on his heel, when she gave him yet another surprise by hugging him, the first and only time she'd done so. She lingered, too, long enough to make him feel obliged to reciprocate, even though this feeling was completely foreign to him. He allowed his arms to press her to him ever so slightly, and she didn't move away.

"What are you..."

"Shut up. You're warm."

 _Guess she really is cold_.

When she finally pulled away from him, her scarf caught onto one of his coat buttons and slid down to her shoulders, leaving him stunned.

" _Temari_ ," he whispered. "What happened to your mouth?"

He should've known she couldn't be that cold; when he exhaled, he could barely see his own breath. No, the reason she hid her face from him was not so black-and-white. Her lips, which he'd paid attention to before for how perfectly they formed her smile and her cackle, were bleeding, bruised and swollen.

Immediately, she tugged her scarf away from him and covered herself once more. "It's nothing."

" _That_ ," he said sharply, stepping forward and pulling the material out of the way, "is not _nothing_."

"I get bad cold sores-"

"You're a terrible liar."

"Your two seconds are up, Nara. I'm leaving."

"Temari," he caught her wrist as she turned to walk away from him. "Tell me what happened."

"It's none of your business."

"We're friends, aren't we?" he posited. "So what happens to you _is_ my business."

She sighed, too exhausted to argue with him anymore. Sinking down onto the nearest bench, she waited for him to join her. "I just got into a little fight with my brothers, that's all."

"And they did _that_ to you?"

"We used to wrestle and scuffle all the time as kids. Things just got a little out of hand today."

"That's not right, Temari. If Gaara's being violent, or Kankuro becomes aggressive, you need to get out of there."

"Shikamaru, you need to chill the fuck out. You're blowing it way out of proportion," she hissed. "It's a sibling thing, okay?"

Silence fell. He could tell that she immediately regretted what she'd said as she retreated behind her scarf once more.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "That was uncalled for." She turned on her heel and walked away without looking back.

"T-" he began, but she was already out of earshot.

* * *

S: happy new year, temari. study hard.

* * *

He checked his phone every hour after sending it.

She didn't reply.

* * *

Finally, he found her.

"Hey," he greeted her as she replaced books in her locker.

"Oh, hey," she said, forcing a smile. He could practically _feel_ just how uncomfortable she was, now trapped in conversation with him.

"How was your break?"

"Good, thanks." As she closed her locker door and prepared to leave, she stopped herself. "Did your dad come home?"

He was momentarily thrown by her question; he hadn't expected her to remember that detail at all. "Yeah. It was nice."

"I'm glad." She still wouldn't look him in the eye.

"He liked the tie you gave me," he added, knowing that if he didn't make the effort, she would happily let their pleasantries end and escape at top speed. "He knew instantly that a girl got it for me. I told him it was just the person I'm tutoring, but I think he's got his suspicions," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, you can assure him that there's nothing going on," she half-smiled. "Tell him I have a boyfriend, if that gets him off your case."

"Nah, it's not that troublesome."

"What isn't?"

He paused. "Nothing."

"If that's all, I'll be going-"

"Hold on," he interjected. "We need to sort out tutoring, remember?"

"Is Wednesday after school no longer good for you?"

"It's fine, I just wanted to double-check..."

"Don't," she said sharply. Quieter, she added, "Please."

They both knew she wasn't referring to chasing up on academics.

"Sorry," he mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He swore he heard her whisper, "Me too," as she walked past him and out of sight.


	13. Chapter 13

"Thanks for the gift advice, by the way," he mentioned as they walked out of class. "I think she liked the scrapbook."

"Of course she would!" Matsuri beamed. "Glad I could help."

"Listen..." he began slowly. "Uh...is she okay?"

"Who? Temari?"

"Yeah."

"The same as usual, as far as I know." She turned and looked at him strangely. "Why do you ask?"

"She...uh...I just had a feeling something might not be right. At home, or something."

"Well, she hasn't said anything to us."

 _But it's written all over her face?_ he thought to himself. "I just-"

"I think it's best if we don't get too involved," Matsuri cautioned. "She's a private person. Yukata and i only found out you were tutoring her after she accidentally let it slip one lunchtime, otherwise she probably wouldn't have told us at all."

He sighed. "Point taken."

"Hey, I'm sure she'll be fine," Matsuri said lightly. "Don't worry about it. Why don't we go see a movie or something, to take your mind off of it?"

He thought about it briefly, then decided a distraction would be good for him. "Sure." Then, he added, "Are there any new horror movies out?"

"You like that kind of stuff?"

"It's different. It's interesting."

"Well, even if we wanted to, we couldn't. You're, what, fifteen?"

 _Shit_. "Ah. Forgot about that."

"Come over to mine over the weekend. My parents are away, and I'll get some snacks. It'll be like our own little movie theatre."

"Sounds good," he said absently, "Just say the word."

"Cool, I'll text you later. Yukata's waiting for me for lunch. See you!"

* * *

"There he is!"

He felt four hands pounce on him from behind.

"Shikamaru!" Choji grinned. "Let's go see that new buddy cop comedy this weekend."

"No, let's go see that rom com instead," Ino rolled her eyes. "I thought we talked about this?"

"I never _agreed_ ," Choji grumbled.

"I'm gonna have to say 'no' to both," Shikamaru announced. "I'm busy."

"Doing what? You don't even need to study."

"I'm seeing a friend."

"Who's more important than _us_?"

"She's not more important-"

"It's a _girl_?!"

"She's not an 'it', Ino," Shikamaru muttered. "Just a friend who's in all my classes."

"So it's a date?"

"No, it's not a date-"

"Bullshit," Ino declared. "Did you ask her out?"

He shook his head. "She wanted to watch a movie. Why not?"

"What are you going to see?"

"Not sure. Something horror-related."

"They're gonna let you into that?"

"We're going to her house."

Ino gasped so loudly a few other eyes followed them as they walked down the hall.

"Jeez, Ino, could you _be_ any less subtle?"

"It's a date," Ino breathed. "Shikamaru agreed to a date!"

"It's not a date," he snapped.

"Shikamaru," she said sternly. "She invited you to her _house_. _No_ other friends. To watch a _horror_ movie."

"So?"

"So?!" Ino practically shrieked. "She's found herself an excuse to snuggle with you, because she'll be scared!"

The realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks. " _Oh_."

"I'll bet her parents won't even be home-"

No comment.

"Oh my God, they actually won't, will they?" Ino determined from the look on his face.

"Damn, Shikamaru. You scored a date with a senior girl without even realising it."

 _Fuck_. "Do you really think she sees it as a date?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Oh, _definitely_ ," Ino nodded. "So? Who is it?"

He grimaced. "There's no way I'm telling you."

"What? Why?"

"Because anything I tell you spreads like _wildfire_."

"That's not true-"

"The last thing I need is my mom finding out I'm going on a date."

"Aha! So it is a date!"

 _Well, what if it is?_ He wondered if he minded. _I mean, Matsuri's nice. She's helped me a lot. We get along easily...and like Temari said, maybe I'm just overthinking everything. We've only got a few months left of high school...I'm gonna miss out on all those experiences she talked about before I know it._

"Well, good luck, Shikamaru," Choji grinned. "Tell Temari I said 'hi'."

"It's _TEMARI?!_ "

"Shhhh!" Shikamaru hissed. "Don't make assumptions, and _definitely_ don't shout them to the hills. It's not Temari, okay? Jeez, she has a boyfriend. I'm not that kind of guy."

"And you're _sure_ you don't like her? At _all_?

"Didn't you hear me? She has a boyfriend."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"No, Ino, I don't like her. Not in that way." _Couldn't if I wanted to_.

She seemed unconvinced, but dropped the matter. "Do you think you might like this girl you're seeing this weekend?"

He shrugged. "She's just a friend."

"Well, don't close your mind to it just yet," Ino advised. "You never know what might hit you when you're not even looking."

* * *

Two-and-a-half-hours later, they'd done exactly what was said on the tin: he'd gone over to her house, her parents weren't home, and they'd watched a horror movie together. As Ino had predicted, Matsuri edged closer to him throughout, to the point where she was hiding her face in his shoulder during the climactic scene.

He was entirely unfazed by it all.

"Sorry," she half-smiled, though he could tell there was no real apology behind it. "Bravery's not my strong suit."

"Why'd you agree to watch a horror movie, then?"

"Well, you seemed keen to, and what kind of person lets someone watch a horror movie by themselves?"

"It wasn't too bad. I don't see why it's rated R."

She chuckled to herself. "You act all mature, but you're still so clueless."

"Eh? What does that mean?"

"Shikamaru," she began. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"No."

"Have you ever thought about dating anyone?"

"Not really."

"Well," she said quietly. "Then, think about it."

Suddenly she was looking at him more seriously, her dark eyes bearing into his before falling to his lips. He could feel her face approach his, her head turning, her eyes closing...

"Sorry."

He looked away, leaving her awkwardly leaning towards him.

"I think you're really nice, Matsuri, but I don't think I'm ready for a relationship."

She frowned.

"B-besides, doesn't our age gap bother you at all?"

"My mom is eight years older than my dad. Like I said before, people don't care about that kinda stuff anymore," she shrugged. "You act like a senior, and you just about look like one, anyway. What's the big deal?"

"I just...want to focus on my studies, that's all."

"But you're already skipping so much of high school! Studying isn't everything, you know."

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I have a lot on my plate right now."

"We all do, Shikamaru!" Matsuri retorted. "Jeez, I was trying to _take your mind off_ things. Don't you get it?"

He shook his head.

"You'd think all fifteen-year-old boys would enjoy having girls throw themselves at them," she muttered under her breath. "Whatever. You should probably go."

He got up without a word and headed for the door.

"Come find me when you remember she has a boyfriend," she called after him.

* * *

When he got to his front door, everything stopped.

She was there.

Sat on his porch.

Bunches dishevelled, mascara streaking; distraught.

"Temari..."

She glanced up at him from beneath the pieces of hair that fell around her face. There was a begging and brokenness in her eyes.

Wordlessly, he sat down beside her and wrapped her in his jacket, putting his arm around her, holding her close. With his other hand, he took hers in his own, and she let him. He turned them over, identifying marks on her wrists where someone had grabbed them all too tightly.

"It's him, isn't it?" he whispered.

She was quiet for a moment. "He gets angry sometimes."

"He does _this_ to you, Temari!" Shikamaru exclaimed in disbelief, pulling her limp arms in front of her face for emphasis. "Your brothers. I can't believe I fell for that."

"My brothers get angry too..."

"But the difference is they'd never lay a finger on you. No matter how close you guys are, they know where the line is. If anything, _you're_ more likely to lay a finger on _them_...I'm just...I'm so..."

He wanted to say _angry_ , but figured it wasn't quite appropriate given the situation.

Then a much more worrying thought crossed his mind. "Did he...?"

"No," she said quickly. "He wanted to. I said I wasn't ready...and he wasn't happy about it."

"Temari," he said sternly. "What exactly did Jugo do?"

"He just pinned me down and said some things...they hurt, it all hurt...then someone knocked at the door, so I took the opportunity to push him off and run. I didn't even have time to grab my coat," she hiccuped through tears. "I was so scared. I nearly knocked over the delivery guy on my way out."

"How long has this been going on for?" Shikamaru asked. He recalled their meeting over Christmas break. "Since before _then_?"

She nodded solemnly against his shoulder.

"Why..." he exhaled, trying his best to maintain his composure. " _Why_ would you put up with that kind of treatment, Temari? Damn it, you're stronger than this!"

"That's exactly why!" she snapped back. "I'm not weak. If you thought I'd come running to you at the first sign of trouble, you'd be sorely mistaken."

"Then why are you here?"

She fell silent.

"Because," she began quietly. "It's the last sign. I'm done with him. I'm done with high school, to be honest."

"So am I."

"You haven't even been through much of it, Shikamaru!"

"I've been through enough of it to know it's not the place for me. Too much drama."

"Tell me about it. It seems to follow me wherever I go."

"Well, you _did_ say you wanted the full 'high school experience'."

"No, I wanted _you_ to have the full 'high school experience'."

"I'm consoling a pretty senior girl, aren't I?" he joked. "Isn't that every freshman's dream-"

Suddenly he felt her lips on his; it was strange and unexpected but he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he welcomed it, _wanted_ it; it was warm, innocent, and just as he'd begun to reciprocate it, she'd pulled away.

"Shit. I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to...I mean, you've got a thing with Matsuri, and I don't want to..."

"What? No!" he denied hastily. "There's nothing going on between us."

"Oh," she said blankly. "I just heard..."

"Gossip," Shikamaru nodded. "I'll bet my friend Ino had something to do with it."

"Funny you should mention her," Temari half-smiled, eyes watery. "I'm sorry for stealing your second kiss."

"Don't be. And it was my first kiss."

"Huh? But you said Ino-"

"I know," he said softly. "The first kiss that matters, remember?"

Her eyes widened a little in realisation as she remembered their detention conversation. "That works out nicely then; since this 'first kiss' was also from someone who cares about you."

His gaze met hers for a moment. No matter how close they were right now, it still felt like she was a million miles away.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you come to me? Why not one of your other friends? Or your brothers?"

She thought about it for some time. "I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I love Yukata and Matsuri a lot. I've grown up with them...the same goes for my brothers. But we only really talk superficially...it's probably my fault. I've always kept my cards close to my chest. And my brothers and I haven't always had the smoothest relationship. But being with you feels stable. I feel _safe_. And that's what I needed tonight."

"So...I'm your safety?"

"Don't say it like that. It makes it sound like you're a last resort, which you're not." She curled his jacket around herself even tighter. "You're my haven, my harbour. You're the kind of person who sits with me while I'm crying my eyes out, gives me his clothing, tries to make me laugh when I want the ground to swallow me whole. So yes, you're my safety. Call it what you will."

He pondered this in silence for a few minutes. "What now?"

She exhaled and slowly stood up, forcing him to reluctantly release his arm from around her shoulders. "I'm just gonna throw myself into my studies. Guys can go fuck themselves." She saw the uncomfortable look on his face and quickly added, "Sorry. Not you. You're alright, Nara."

"Thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome." She stepped off his porch and removed his jacket, tossing it back to him. "I'm gonna head home. Thanks for everything. I'm glad I came to you."

"No worries. It's a good thing I appeared before my mom did."

"Why's that?"

"How would _you_ react if you saw a crying high school girl on your porch? She probably would've thought I'd knocked you up or something."

She laughed, and even though he wasn't joking (his mother was definitely one to jump to conclusions), it was nice to know he was the reason.

"Well, you can assure her that no guy will be getting near my goods anytime soon." She walked away into the evening. "Later, Nara!" she called behind her.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** I can't even begin to tell you how many times I had to write and rewrite this chapter. I took such a long break from updating this story that I have no idea if it flows properly...if it's massively OOC...so much of this just came out of my brain at about 2:37am...excuses, excuses. The good news is I have a pretty solid idea of how I want to wrap up this story, so it will probably be two or three more chapters at most and potentially an epilogue.

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the positive feedback on this story - I really, truly did not expect to receive such a great response to my take on a high school AU (although now I feel a huge pressure to maintain an abstract level of quality haha). Thanks for being here, and thanks for reading. You guys are the best!

* * *

"Shikamaru!"

He turned around to see her hurtling down the corridor towards him.

"Woah, slow down. What's wrong?"

"Shikamaru, my SAT scores came in!" she exclaimed. "I got 1250!"

"Congratulations!" he grinned, before she threw herself at him and enveloped him in a hug. "That's a great score, Temari."

"Hell yeah, it is! You should've seen the look on the principal's face!" she laughed, as a group whistled walking past them.

"Guess someone moved on quickly…"

"God, she's preying on children now?"

"Get a room, cradle robber!"

"We're just friends, you morons," she barked. Nevertheless, she quickly pulled away from him.

"Hey, don't listen to them," Shikamaru said. "Besides, they don't even know about the tutoring. They're obviously gonna jump to conclusions."

"It'd definitely be worse if they knew about the tutoring," she muttered. "Not that it matters, anymore. My score's great and my GPA's up! Don't you know what this means?"

"…I really don't."

"It means you get your Wednesdays back, Shikamaru! You don't have to tutor me anymore."

Suddenly his heart sank in his chest as he realised the weight of her words. Somehow, in the months they'd been together, she'd become more than just a study partner. More than a nuisance, an acquaintance, a classmate. She was his friend, and he was her shoulder to lean on; or at least, he'd hoped there was at least a small part of her that found him to be important. An important person.

And now she wanted nothing to do with him again.

"Everything can go back to normal, now," she smiled. Then she added, "I'm glad nothing's changed between us, Shikamaru, even though I did something stupid. Thanks for not holding it against me."

He frowned. "I don't hold it against you because it wasn't a mistake. Was it?"

"I don't know..."

"Do you regret it?"

"Yes."

"Why? Because it didn't feel right or because you think I should be torn up over it?" He queried. "Because if it's the latter, I'm not. So it's not a reason."

"Still, I complicated things for everyone. God, I'm such a fucking mess," she half-laughed. "Do me a favour, Shikamaru. Promise me that when you do get into a relationship, you'll pick someone who's kind and smart and minds their own business. Someone who doesn't cause you any trouble, because that's all I seem to do."

"You're not that bad."

"Yeah, right. I'm just a walking stereotype. Blonde hair, no brain, causing drama, crying over boys…but hey, you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'm finally standing on my own two feet. College is almost in my reach…I can feel it!"

"What about finals? Are you sure you don't need me to help you prepare for those?"

"I think if I just focus and practise a lot, I'll be fine. Besides, you've gotta study for them too…I don't want to waste more of your time."

"Temari; you're never a waste of time."

Her bright, teal eyes looked at him blankly. "Oh?"

"You think I've been helping you, but in a way, I think you've helped me, too. I never saw high school as anything other than a barrier between me and an easy life with a mundane job, but talking to you kinda makes me wish I had more time here." _More time with you._

"No, you don't want more time here. You, Shikamaru, are definitely destined for greater things," she grinned. "I'll only hold you back. But really…thanks for everything. The whole tutoring thing hasn't been as bad as I thought; and I definitely wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for all the hours you put in, poring over textbooks and explaining simple concepts to me. You need to think about yourself, now. Go get into your dream college, because I know you can."

"Actually…I already have."

She paused. "What?"

"I received my acceptance letter just before the holidays. I applied for early decision." A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"W-what…Shikamaru, that's amazing! Congratulations!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him once more. "Wow. Where?"

"KIT, for Mathematics."

"Of course," she breathed. Then, she smacked him on the arm. "Why the hell didn't you tell me, idiot?"

"It's not about me," he shrugged. "This arrangement is about you. Telling you I got into my first choice college wasn't gonna get you anywhere; I didn't want to distract you with news like that, not at such a crucial point in the year."

"Still, it's a huge achievement! Did you at least do something nice with your friends or your family?"

"Not really. Seems everyone but me expected it to happen."

"Right. That's it. This Wednesday, instead of our usual tutoring, we're going out."

"Why?"

"Because you and I sure as hell have a reason to celebrate."

* * *

"Hey, Shikamaru."

He looked up from his desk.

"Oh, Matsuri, hey."

"I just…I feel like we left things on a bad note last time. Sorry about that."

"Really, it's not a big deal. I'm sorry, too."

"It was totally my fault…I was too pushy, it was stupid of me. I mean, you're fifteen. What was I thinking? I mean, I went through a bad breakup last year and I guess I'm still not really over that and now I have no moral boundaries…"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. And I think you were right before, about times changing. Age gaps don't matter…mostly. And you're a really nice person, anyone would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks, Shikamaru," she smiled. "So…is there anyone you like?"

He shook his head. "Like I said, I'm not really thinking about that kind of thing at the moment."

"Well, even so, it's senior year. Prom will come before you know it, so maybe you should start thinking about who you wanna ask." Quickly, she added, "That's not a hint, by the way. I know you and I are just friends."

"I don't even know if I'll go to prom…"

"Oh, come on, Shikamaru, you can't miss prom! It's a rite of passage. At least promise me you'll think about it."

"…fine."

"Good. See you in class!"

* * *

"Are we there yet?" he asked sarcastically from the passenger seat.

"We're literally pulling up now. No peeking until I say so," she replied.

"Couldn't if I tried," he muttered. "But hurry up. This blindfold is itchy."

The car slowed to a halt and she shut off the ignition, hastily jumping out of the car to grab him from the other side.

"Alright, come on…"

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" she laughed. "Not very good at this guiding thing."

"God forbid we're at a cliff edge."

"Well…" she trailed off, then stripped the cloth from his eyes. "Ta-da!"

He marvelled at the view in front of him. He knew he was only joking about the cliff, but she had somehow led him to the most incredible lookout that had a vantage point overlooking the entire city and beyond. Moreover, the darkness allowed all the lights in the buildings and streets to sparkle; maybe it was the cold evening air, but he felt the breath leave his body at the sight.

"Wow."

"Mm-hm," she nodded, turning to lock the car with her key remote before returning to admiring the view. "Cool, isn't it?"

"To say the least."

"Let's walk a little further. There's a really great spot to sit up here."

* * *

"No."

"Nara, don't be such a wuss. Sit."

"Call me whatever you want, but some of us don't have a death wish, you know."

"God, would you just sit the fuck down? I've done this a hundred times and I'm still alive, aren't I?"

He reluctantly approached the cliff edge where she was perched and stopped two feet short. Carefully, he lowered himself to the ground, arms out for stability, then once seated, shuffled on his rear until he could hang his legs over the precipice in a similar fashion to her.

"How do you know about this place?" he asked cautiously.

"I found it one day when I came to visit Gaara in the hospital. If you hadn't been blindfolded, you would have seen us pass the building just before we drove up the hill. Anyway, I was having a shitty time, and I hated seeing him like that. I wanted to get away. So I just hiked and climbed and before I knew it, I was here." She registered the look of concern on his face and quickly added, "Oh, I wasn't going to do anything drastic. That wasn't in my mind at all, especially since that's part of the reason why Gaara was hospitalised in the first place. After all that Kankuro and I went through…I could never do that to anyone else, you know? I just needed to breathe, to be alone. So I would come here after my visits, and whenever I felt sad. It became more frequent when I realised I could drive up," she laughed. "Because I had to be really sad for that uphill trek to be worth it."

"I can see why you like it here, though," he nodded. "It's incredible."

"Yeah. Really reminds you how small you are, how much bigger the world is." She pulled out some supplies from her bag. "Moving on. I said this would be a celebration, didn't I? So…" she grinned as she presented him with a bottle of champagne and two flutes. "Let's celebrate."

"How did you…"

"Fake ID. I'll get someone to hook you up with one for college," she winked. "Oh, and also…"

She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one for herself, offering the rest to him.

"Cigarettes?"

"To relax you," she said, placing it between her lips. "Can't have you all anxious and jittery on the edge of a cliff."

"I didn't realise you smoked."

"On occasion," she shrugged. "I try not to make a habit of it, but it's a good lookout activity. Better and cheaper than getting stoned, for sure."

"Can't argue with that."

"Well, go on, take one."

"I think I'll stay anxious and jittery, thanks."

"Oh, don't tell me you've never smoked before."

He remained silent.

"Really, Shikamaru?"

"While we're at it, I've never had alcohol, either."

"You're kidding."

"I'm fifteen! Is it really so unbelievable?"

"Kind of. You're a teenager, for crying out loud; I know it paints a terrible picture of society, but I'm honestly surprised you haven't tried any of that stuff," she answered, lighting up and inhaling deeply. She let out a smoky sigh. "Actually, I'm not surprised at all, knowing you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't really put yourself out there and try anything new."

"Isn't that good when it comes to things that might ruin my health?"

"Everything in moderation," she said simply, taking another drag. "I'm not saying you should become an alcoholic or a chainsmoker. I certainly don't want to be either of those things. But these are those life experiences I keep telling you about, Shikamaru. Everything's your choice, in the end. I'm not gonna pretend that these cigarettes aren't gonna kill you if you smoke enough of them. And drinking is dangerous for all sorts of reasons. But are you really planning on playing it safe your whole life? Not just when it comes to this, but to any other new, scary, risky opportunity?"

Without another word, he took a cigarette from the pack and lit it, coughing and spluttering as he unsuccessfully tried to smoke.

"Woah, take it slow. Inhale until you feel it here," she instructed, pointing to the lower part of her chest. She smirked as she added, "That didn't take much convincing."

"The jitters were getting the better of me."

"Sure," she laughed. "Feel like popping the champagne while we're at it?"

As he made a mess of the bottle, she held out the glasses for him to pour the liquid into, then handed him one. "To you, Shikamaru Nara, getting into your first choice college and opening up to new experiences."

"And to you, for killing it at the SATs. I told you you could do it."

"Cheers." A clink of glasses.

"Oh, and you'll get a lot of peer pressure when you're in college, too. If you think I'm a bad influence, you're in for a real ride," she grinned.

"Oh God."

"You've got a good head on your shoulders, though. I have faith you'll be able to stand your ground when it matters," she smiled, taking a sip of her champagne.

"You sound like such a parent."

"I have two younger brothers. Do you think you're the first person I've had this conversation with?"

"Makes sense." They drank and smoked together in silence.

"You're getting the hang of it," she commented, when his cigarette was nearly finished.

"That can't be good," he chuckled. "Thanks for tonight, Temari. It means a lot that you'd share all of this with me."

"It's not expensive champagne, if you were worried about that."

"No, not just that. I mean this place, too. I know it must be special to you."

"Yeah, well, it's too good to keep it all to myself."

* * *

"Can I kiss you?"

She laughed. "That's the alcohol talking, Nara."

"No, I'm serious."

She stubbed out her third cigarette. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"You did it to me."

"Because I wasn't in my right mind!" she snapped. "I already apologised for that. You're too young, Nara, at least for now."

"But are you attracted to me?"

"…no."

"Bullshit."

"Fine! I find you attractive. I shouldn't, because you're fifteen and barely in high school and you're my tutor of all things…but I do. Don't take it the wrong way, Nara; I don't have any romantic feelings for you. But I…I'd be lying if I said I never thought about a kiss. Or two. But that's not going to happen."

He took a moment to digest her confession. "Well, what if you didn't kiss me?"

"Huh?"

"You say you 'stole' a kiss from me, right?" he said. "If I were to reclaim it, and take back what's rightfully mine in the first place, that wouldn't technically be a brand new kiss. I would simply be reversing the action that occurred before, returning us to the state we were in prior to that incident."

She rolled her eyes. "Now you're just grasping at straws."

"You're not making it any easier."

"Alright, Shikamaru," she began. "We're both mildly inebriated, your dumbass logic is starting to make some kind of sense in my head, we're not in school and we're celebrating something important. So if you want to…take what's yours, I may or may not stop you-"

Immediately his lips were on hers; initially it was supposed to be a touch of lips, the exact same as before, except that when he felt no resistance on her part, he let himself linger there. And soon it morphed into something more heated, more intense, and before he knew it she had her arms hooked around his neck and he had an arm around her waist, one hand in her hair. As they lay back on the ground and he was hovering over her, his hand moved to caress the side of her face, at which point she stilled.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently.

"Don't...look at me like that," she whispered, turning her head to the side to rid herself of his touch and his gaze.

He let his hand drop to the ground. "Why?"

"Because if this is anything more than a kiss, it's going to hurt both of us."

"It became a lot more than one kiss about five minutes ago."

"You know what I mean."

He sat up and folded his arms over his knees. "I like you, Temari."

She remained lying down, eyes to the starry night sky. "But why? How?"

"Because you challenge me. I've had a pretty easy time in school, breezed through each grade, didn't really invest myself in anything. And the minute you came crashing into my life, you pissed me off. You frustrated the hell out of me."

"This better be going somewhere, Nara."

"It is. I'm sure we both annoyed each other to no end in those first few interactions. But it was exciting, because no one had ever done that. No one ever pushed me out of my comfort zone or provoked me in that kind of way. You showed me the world outside academia, the experience that high school is meant to be. Even then, you're smart, Temari. You're so fucking intelligent and you don't even realise it. And you're beautiful, but you probably knew that already, given how many guys have fallen at your feet ever since you got boobs, I imagine. Everything about you just hit me all at once and from every direction and…fuck it, I think I'm gonna start talking shit if I keep going."

There was a pause, then she started to laugh. "That would've been a really sweet speech, minus the boob comment."

"Just laying down the truth out here."

"Yeah, I know." She sat up and turned to look at him. "Thanks, Shikamaru," she smiled earnestly, then kissed him on the cheek before letting her head rest in the crook of his neck. She slid an arm through his and laced their fingers together. "I like you, too."

"Not in the way I wish you would, though."

"We can work on that," she said softly. "For now, it means: I'm glad you're in my life."

"I'll take it."

* * *

"Is everything alright?" he asked on the drive back, after she hadn't uttered a word in five minutes.

She inhaled deeply. "What if I don't get into college, Shikamaru?"

"You will. Your GPA's been on the rise all year and you submitted a solid application. Add on your newly acquired SAT success and there's no question about it."

"But my transcript has my entire high school history on it! What are they gonna think when they see what a terrible student I was for _three_ years?"

"They're not gonna care about that when they see what an improvement you've made. If anything, it shows determination, don't you think?"

"Still…"

"Stop worrying about nothing. You can't do anything about it at this point, anyway. Just wait for your acceptance letters, work hard in your final assessments and come out on top."

"…I'll try."

"You'd better. Because I did not spend a semester and a half tutoring you only for you to spiral at the end of the year," he laughed.

"Not that it would matter if it were the other way around. I'll bet you could skip the rest of your high school classes and it wouldn't change a thing."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far…"

"So it's true!"

"It's unimportant. What matters is you get to move on from the high school experience to the college experience, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

"So…sure you don't need me after this?"

"For school stuff, no. To be my friend, absolutely."


	15. Chapter 15

"Temari?" he mumbled. "What are you doing here?"

"They arrived," she said plainly, inviting herself in and instinctively walking towards the dining table.

" _Would you like to come in?_ " he muttered to himself, as she'd already walked past him and sat at the table. " _Oh, my mom? She's conveniently out at the moment. What brings you here? What mysterious thing arrived that caused you turn up unannounced on my doorstep? Would you like a cup of tea?_ "

"I'd love one, thanks."

He rolled his eyes but complied anyway. "Green?"

"You know me too well."

* * *

"Well, this is all of them," she said nervously, laying out a number of envelopes on the table between them.

"So? Open them."

"I...I don't want to."

" _That's_ what you came all the way here for? To _not_ open your acceptance letters?"

"What if they're _rejection_ letters, Nara?" she snapped. "Fuck. I'm so anxious. I need a cigarette," she muttered, hastily pulling the pack out of her bag.

"You can have one _after_ you've grown a pair and opened one of the damn letters," he replied bluntly, snatching it out of her hands and putting it to the side, out of her reach.

"See, I've never really agreed with that expression. Why the fuck is 'courage' associated with male reproductive organs? Why does it take 'balls' to do something? If you ask me-"

"Stop stalling and open the letters, Temari," he interrupted. "Besides, I never specified what it was a pair _of_. Could've been a pair of boobs, for all you know."

"Smartass." She snatched the first letter off the table and tore the envelope open. As she slipped the paper out, she quickly thrust it into into his unsuspecting arms. "You read it!" she exclaimed, turning her face away. "I can't deal with i-"

"You got in."

She stopped in her tracks. "I what?"

"You got in, Temari," his face broke into a grin. "You're in!"

Her eyes widened in amazement as she turned back to him. "I got in?!" she repeated incredulously.

" _We are pleased to offer you a conditional place on our undergraduate programme._ Think that means you're in, Tem."

She could barely utter words; instead, she enveloped him in an overly-enthusiastic hug. "Thank God."

"Right, now that you know you're at least going _somewhere_ for college, do you think you can open the rest yourself?"

"No."

"You know, you give me a lot of crap for someone who's too afraid to open four fucking letters," he grumbled as he picked up the others and sliced open the seals with a quick swipe of his finger. He silently read each letter, face giving nothing away as she clutched her hands together in anticipation; finally he exhaled and laid them flat on the table. "All but one."

She let out a sigh. "That's a relief."

"' _That's a relief'_?!" he uttered incredulously. "Temari, it's an incredible achievement!"

"B-but, which one?"

 _Of course_ _she'd focus on the one she didn't get into_ , he thought to himself. _This woman..._

"KIT."

A pause. "Oh." She dragged her cup of tea towards her and ran her finger around the rim in contemplation. "Well, I didn't really have a chance there anyway."

"Don't say that."

"But it's true, isn't it? With my scores, at least. I knew that. There's no reason for me to be disappointed."

"You can let yourself be disappointed, if you need to be. But that one disappointment means nothing with all these reasons to celebrate," he smiled, indicating the other letters. "The world is your oyster, Temari. You can _choose_ where you want to study; they're not choosing you anymore."

"I guess."

"You know, there are times when I feel like I'm starting to understand you, and then other times when you just _confound_ me," he exclaimed, exasperated. " _How_ are you not happier about this?"

"No, of course, I'm happy," she insisted. "But there's a part of me that wishes we weren't so far apart, you know?"

He was confused. "All the universities you chose are still in Konoha. It wouldn't be difficult for us to keep in touch-"

"That's not what I meant." She looked away quickly. "Everything you do, all the amazing ways you think, they've always been unattainable for me. You're on an entirely different intellectual playing field, one I'll never be on. It frustrates the fuck out of me, because who am I kidding? Thinking if I just work hard enough, I could get into a school like K.I.T. Share the same campus as you. Keep up with the intensity of it. God, it's embarrassing..."

"How many times, Temari? How many times do I have to remind you how smart you are? You don't need some college's approval to validate your worth. You don't need _me_ to validate your worth. What you've managed to achieve over the months I've known you is pretty insane, so just shut the hell up and be smug about it like you should be and like I expect you to be. You're freaking me out."

Much to his surprise, she was momentarily silenced. Then, as her mouth opened to speak, the door opened.

"Shikamaru, for the last time, what did I tell you about leaving your trainers - oh, hello!" A woman, presumably Shikamaru's mother, came in and shut the door behind her. As she hung up her coat, she asked, "Is this your friend, Shikamaru?"

"Oh, yeah," Shikamaru nodded. "Mom, this is Temari, the girl I'm tutoring."

" _Was_ tutoring," Temari corrected, grinning. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs Nara. Thanks for letting me borrow your son's brain for the last few months," she laughed.

"I'm glad he could be of help," Yoshino smiled. "He's so lazy, I should be thanking _you_ for giving him a reason to do something with his time instead of sleep. Oh, and that tie you gave him was beautiful. I'm sure he'll wear it to the pr-"

"Mom!" Shikamaru grumbled.

Temari chuckled. "I'm glad it was a hit. He should look as smart as he is, after all." She stood up from the table and swept up her letters. "Well, I should be going. It was great to meet you, Mrs Nara. See you around, Shikamaru!"

As she walked to the door, Yoshino shot Shikamaru a piercing look and nodded her head in Temari's direction. _Aren't you going to s_ _ee her off like the gentleman I raised you to be?_

Disgruntled, Shikamaru rose from his chair and followed her out.

"Thanks again for everything, Shikamaru," Temari said as she turned to face him. "I really couldn't have done any of this without you."

"You're welcome," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Shouldn't we go celebrate? You _did_ just get accepted into five colleges, unless you've already forgotten."

"I want to tell my brothers, first. And then we'll probably celebrate together, the three of us. But relax, we'll see each other soon, okay?" she smiled, stepping off the porch.

"Wait," Shikamaru interjected. "Um...about what my mom said earlier..." _Do it. Ask her._

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to prom anyway," she answered before he could get a word in edgeways. "Dancing isn't really my thing. It's sweet that your mom's looking out for you like that, though. She clearly wants you to have the full high school experience, too."

"You're...not going? With anyone?"

"No," she confirmed. "I've had enough drama for one year. I'll leave the rest of it for college." As she wandered off into the distance, she called, "But if you're planning on going, you should ask someone soon! Girls don't like to wait, Nara!"

 _Neither do guys,_ _Temari_ , he thought to himself.


End file.
